Esther Amaudruz 13.6.1925 - 1.5.1999
She passed away suddenly, on the evening of her 74th birthday, but let her friends with countless memories of her friendship, as evidenced by the dozens of messages, greetings and prayers received during her five-week hospitalization.
Esther loved her parish of the Cathedral of Lausanne and was very active in it, first in the choir, then in the reception with the young people, taking care of the children as well as organizing retreats for the elderly, and finally in the parish council.
Esther took care of the little Kosovars at a picnic organized by the parish, and that she gave a lot: not only to her family and friends, but also to her city, her country, and even to the world, and that she owed this to Moral Rearmament, which had broadened her horizon.
She had a sense of humor and service that brought her to the weak, the small, the needy. Esther had a faith that she did not show so much in words, but in her actions. "She had always God as her support in the great difficulties of her life,".
In her last letter to Marielle Thiébaud, Esther wrote (February 5, 1999) that their roads and paths are strewn with teachings and riches. Praise God, and may he find her faithful." She was faithful to the end. Her prayer was answered.
" The Swiss Bookshop" of 01.09.87 (on the occasion of Esther's professional retirement) Esther Amaudruz entered the bookshop as in religion. With love and faith! Her apprenticeship at Mack &Cie, high up on the rue de Bourg in Lausanne (now Librairie-papeterie Reymond SA) brought her into contact with the most obliging and demanding bookseller, the astonishing Willy Ryser. He initiated her to the joys and servitudes of the profession with intelligence, instilled in her the respect for work well done, the contempt for easy solutions, for oversights.
From "Mack has all" (a slogan due to the verve of Marcel Mack), Esther went to Payot. Not at the bottom of Rue de Bourg, but at Payot Berne, Montreux, Zurich and finally Lausanne. When Ernest David left the management of the Librairie de l'Ale, Esther Amaudruz took it over and obtained excellent results. She returned to Payot Lausanne until she was hired by the BCU (Bibliothèque Cantonale et Universitaire) where Esther retired on June 30.
From her early years, Esther had a revelation of the divine power. Through the Moral Rearmament that enriched her with solid convictions, talks, meetings, and edifying trips. She devoted herself (and still does) to the Movement with generosity.
