CASTANHEIRA, Esther A. (Sampainho), late of Lexington.  Died Aug. 23 after 96 full years of life.  Born in Cambridge in 1929, Esther was raised on Windsor Street, near Inman Square, by her parents, the late Laurinda M. (Cavacas) and John S. Sampainho.  The words accompanying her senior portrait in the 1947 Cambridge Rindge and Latin School yearbook will ring true for all who knew her: "Happy, merry, full of fun; Known and loved by everyone."  Esther and her late husband, Daniel S. Castanheira, moved to Lexington in 1964 where they continued raising their two daughters on Emerald Street.  She worked for many years as a secretary at the Lexington High School career center, and in retirement she was a friendly and familiar face as the receptionist at the Lexington Council on Aging.  Esther was a longtime parishioner and choir member at Hancock Church in Lexington.  She moved in 2026 to Carleton-Willard Village in Bedford where she was pleased to be surrounded by dear church friends.  While she traveled to many places, her happiest summer memories were at Wells Beach in Maine, which she visited nearly every year of her life.  Her greatest pride was her family.  She is survived by her daughters, Lydia Santos of Danvers and Elaine Doran (and husband Guy) of Lexington, and her grandson Samuel Doran of Lexington.  Interment is private at Westview Cemetery in Lexington.  As a memorial to Esther, donations may be made to the Hancock United Church of Christ (1912 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA 02421; hancockchurch.org).