1968 at St. John the Baptist High School . In 1974 they wed while attending college at SUNY Albany.. They stayed in Albany after graduating and Eileen’s organization and writing skills earned her respect working for The Two year College Development Center and as a New York State assemblyman's office administrator until 1979 when their first child was born. While caring for her children, Thomas, Emily and Kimberly she worked part time at the Albany Medical College Library and then the Niskayuna Middle School library That work and combining , the missions of teaching and libraries in the information age excited her so she returned to graduate school in 1989, earned her MLS and upon graduating began her career in Berne.
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She was known to be eminently sensible with a keen wit and clear values and priorities. She firmly believed that consistency and high expectations should be combined with nurturing and humor in teaching and parenting. The result was her calmly impatient effectiveness in both teaching, parenting and virtually any effort she undertook. She regarded herself as a “work in progress” and was constantly taking courses and reading about a wide range of topics.
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She also believed, however, that children should not be prematurely asked to shoulder worries that are their parent or guardian’s responsibilities and that by ensuring the joy and wonder of childhood the children will become happier adults who can optimistically, creatively and fully embrace life’s responsibilities.
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Eileen considered fairy tales to be the cornerstone of a child’s cultural understanding and was instrumental in programs in Berne to make them come alive in school.
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Eileen died on June 28, 2001 at the age of 47 after sudden cardiac arrest and coma on June 22. She had been diagnosed with Islet Cell Carcinoma in February and was very optimistic about her fight against that usually less aggressive form of Cancer. During her brief battle she constantly asked herself, “What should I be learning from this.” While her death was undoubtedly a consequence of that cancer and/or the chemotherapies she received starting in April it was still completely unexpected.
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Nevertheless, Eileen was known to always be prepared for the next step and all who knew her can see that this step is no different. She even left behind a lesson plan as well as many other writings. Her spirit will live on intensely in her own three children and in the many other lives she touched, the viewpoints she altered and especially in Berne in her library and in the joy of reading she inspired in her friends and students.
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