The Life of EILEEN MARIE ANDERSON
Eileen Anderson, 89 of Des Moines, died on Thursday, October 27th at her daughter’s home lovingly surrounded by her family as she left this earthly world to join her son, Peter, in heaven above.
Services will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 1, 2016, at All Saints Catholic Church of which she was a member. Burial will follow at Highland Memory Gardens Cemetery. The family will receive visitors 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. on Monday at Hamilton’s near Highland Memory Gardens, 121 NW 60th Avenue, Des Moines where a rosary will be recited at 7:30 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made to All Saints Catholic Church or Saint Jude Children’s Hospital in her memory.
Eileen may have medically died from heart failure but in our eyes she died from a broken heart once the decision was made to close the Mercy Park Apartments. She dearly missed her independent living style, the numerous social activities and most importantly, the many beloved friends she had made there (Mercy Park Apartments). She called herself a “Mercy Girl” - she was born at Mercy Hospital on March 20, 1927. She had seven children all born at Mercy Hospital. She worked at Mercy Hospital for 27 years, first as a switchboard operator and later in the billing department. She lived a wonderful social life at Mercy Park Apartments for 21 years. She volunteered numerous hours with Mercy Guild. And in her final days, she was under the compassionate care of nurse Jessica Palmer of Mercy Hospice.
She attended Saint John’s Catholic School. She graduated from North High School in 1945. She worked at Northwestern Bell as a telephone operator. She married Peter John Anderson in 1947. She became a stay-at-home mother, raising 7 children and was actively involved in All Saints Mother’s Club as well as the Rosary Society. Later in life she went to work at Mercy Hospital. She loved to travel. She especially enjoyed many cruises and visiting Ireland, the home of her heritage. She also enjoyed getting together for lunch with her North High classmates called the “Forty-Fivers,” and all of the socials with the Red Hat Divas.
Survivors include four daughters, Karen Wentzel (Bill) of Clive, Nancy Webb of Colfax, Annie Gurwell of Des Moines, and Josie Floerchinger (Wayne) of Ankeny, and a daughter-in-law, Laurie Morrissey (Jeff) of Norwalk. Two sons: Knute (Diana) and Al (Lori) both of Des Moines; 16 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, Peter and Marie McAndrews; her sister, Virginia Lambert; her brothers, Jimmy and Larry; and her beloved son, Peter John.
Services will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 1, 2016, at All Saints Catholic Church of which she was a member. Burial will follow at Highland Memory Gardens Cemetery. The family will receive visitors 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. on Monday at Hamilton’s near Highland Memory Gardens, 121 NW 60th Avenue, Des Moines where a rosary will be recited at 7:30 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made to All Saints Catholic Church or Saint Jude Children’s Hospital in her memory.
Eileen may have medically died from heart failure but in our eyes she died from a broken heart once the decision was made to close the Mercy Park Apartments. She dearly missed her independent living style, the numerous social activities and most importantly, the many beloved friends she had made there (Mercy Park Apartments). She called herself a “Mercy Girl” - she was born at Mercy Hospital on March 20, 1927. She had seven children all born at Mercy Hospital. She worked at Mercy Hospital for 27 years, first as a switchboard operator and later in the billing department. She lived a wonderful social life at Mercy Park Apartments for 21 years. She volunteered numerous hours with Mercy Guild. And in her final days, she was under the compassionate care of nurse Jessica Palmer of Mercy Hospice.
She attended Saint John’s Catholic School. She graduated from North High School in 1945. She worked at Northwestern Bell as a telephone operator. She married Peter John Anderson in 1947. She became a stay-at-home mother, raising 7 children and was actively involved in All Saints Mother’s Club as well as the Rosary Society. Later in life she went to work at Mercy Hospital. She loved to travel. She especially enjoyed many cruises and visiting Ireland, the home of her heritage. She also enjoyed getting together for lunch with her North High classmates called the “Forty-Fivers,” and all of the socials with the Red Hat Divas.
Survivors include four daughters, Karen Wentzel (Bill) of Clive, Nancy Webb of Colfax, Annie Gurwell of Des Moines, and Josie Floerchinger (Wayne) of Ankeny, and a daughter-in-law, Laurie Morrissey (Jeff) of Norwalk. Two sons: Knute (Diana) and Al (Lori) both of Des Moines; 16 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, Peter and Marie McAndrews; her sister, Virginia Lambert; her brothers, Jimmy and Larry; and her beloved son, Peter John.