Obituaries

Esther H. KempDocent, Volunteer

Esther H. Kemp, 80, a National Gallery of Art docent and Washington Home hospice volunteer, died May 2 at Community Hospice of Northeast Florida in Jacksonville. She had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Mrs. Kemp was a District resident and was in Florida visiting a stepdaughter.

Her memberships included the Junior League of Washington, the Sulgrave Club and the Chevy Chase Club, where she won golf championships. She was active in the effort to create the Art Barn gallery in Rock Creek Park.

At other times, she worked as a kitchen designer and office administrator.

Esther Hamilton was born in Manhattan, N.Y. She was 12 when her mother died, and she was raised by her father, a surgeon, in Europe. At 16, she went to live with family friends in Brattleboro, Vt.

She was a 1949 graduate of Vassar College and settled in the Washington area in 1952.

Her hobbies included playing bridge and taking cruises.

Her marriage to William C. Bennett Jr. ended in divorce. She next married Clinton C. Kemp, who died in 1987.

Survivors include three children from her first marriage, William C. Bennett III of Foster City, Calif., Kim B. Rinehart of Longmont, Colo., and Douglas H. Bennett of Alameda, Calif.; two stepchildren, Clinton W. Kemp of Lancaster, Pa., and Linda K. Couch of Ponte Vedra, Fla.; and six grandchildren.

-- Adam Bernstein