Esther Salzman was born into a Baptist family on September 23, 1906, in Kankakee, IL. After graduating from Kankakee High School, she spent four years at Wheaton College, participating in the college literary society, the YWCA, baseball, and the women's athletic association. She graduated on June 12, 1929, with a B.S. degree. From there, she went on to earn her RN degree from the Presbyterian School of Nursing in Chicago. In addition, she took courses from the teacher's college at Columbia University in New York. In 1939, Miss Salzman was appointed a missionary by the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society and went to China the following year. In China she served as the only nurse at a hospital in Kinwa. She was evacuated from the country twice to avoid approaching armies. In 1948, she left China and returned to the United States to earn an M.S. in nursing from the University of Chicago. She went to the Philippines in 1950 as a member of the staff of the Iloilo Mission Hospital, where she was coordinator of nursing. In cooperation with Central Philippines University, a college of nursing was started which granted degrees for graduates. She was dean of the college for many years before turning over the job to one of the nationals. Miss Salzman returned from the Philippines in April 1972. In October of the same year, she was the key speaker at the fall rally of the Chemung Association of the American Baptist Church in New York. In 1978, she resided in Kankakee and taught nursing at the Olivet Nazarene College until her retirement. She died December 3, 1996.