Obituary of Eileen Virginia Maloney

Woodstock, Eileen Virgina (Tierney) Maloney, age 95, of Woodstock, CT, formerly of Plantation, FL died Friday morning, August 20, 2010. She was the loving, devoted wife of John Thomas Maloney, Sr. (from Crawfordsville, IN). They were married January 8, 1949 & enjoyed 53 years together when John passed away, May 24, 2002. Eileen was born August 16, 1915 in Milford, MA and was the only child of the late John Thomas and Henrietta Christine (McLellan) Tierney. She spent many happy childhood days, vacations and holidays with her Aunt Grace (McLellan) Martha along with her 3 cousins, Donald, Paul & Kurtis Martha of Wallingford, CT. She was an alumna of the Holy Family Academy, Baltic, CT and the Pratt Institute, NY. She was an executive secretary to the director of the Hawthorne Cedar Knolls School when she married John in White Plains, NY. She and John lived in Chicago, IL; San Francisco, CA and Dayton, OH before moving with their 2 children to Plantation, FL in 1960. Eileen and John were founding members of the St. Gregory Church & School in Plantation, FL. They served the church and school and were devoted members from 1960 to 2001. During that time, she was extremely active volunteering her time creatively arranging endless fund raising events for the church and school. She took great care arranging and decorating St. Gregory Church with gorgeous red poinsettias and greenery for Christmas and elegant white lillies for Easter services. Eileen held offices for years for St. Gregory Women's Club - putting on annual fashion shows; annual country fairs; established a school library and helped develop a school milk and lunch program, among many other projects for the school. With John volunteering many hours as a teacher and President of Broward County (FL) Literacy Volunteeres Program, Eileen shared the same love and importance of reading giving many hours collecting funds and books as a 'Friend' of the Plantation (FL) Library for 40 years, building and expanding their library of books and the facilities for children and adults in the Plantation community. At every local, state or federal election time, Eileen would be found volunteering her time at the voting polls helping the registered voters complete their voting process; supporting candidates and helping to ensure that the votes cast were included in the election count. Eileen also cared for both her mother (Henrietta Tierney) and John's mother (Jane Casey Maloney) for many years in their home with her family. Eileen took great pride and joy in knitting exquisite detailed sweaters for herself, others and especially for all of her grandchildren. Her favorite color was red and her favorite flower and fragrance was 'Lilly of the Valley'! Her favorite food was 'Banana Bread'! She loved the season of 'winter' and she enjoyed the snow and cold weather so very much, missing it all the years she lived in Florida. She was a dog-lover throughout her life - owning several Terriers - but her favorite dog was a miniature Sheep Dog, lovingly named "Bandit"! He was quite a charmer and would sit on Eileen's lap for hours whenever possible. She had so much fun playing with all of her daughter, Chris' Golden Retriever Puppies that she raised in Woodstock. Eileen's greatest passion, however, was to live out and share her love for Jesus Christ as her Savior and Lord. She 'talked' to the Lord as her closest and dearest friend. She had the Irish 'gift of gab' and would continually talk to family, friends and strangers in any setting - offering words of encouragement, optimism, wisdom and prayer for whatever someone was dealing with! She was an amazing loving, generous woman and example to all, especially her daughter, Chris and her family. She truly loved her family and close life-long friends and delighted in recalling all the stories, memories and escapades of everyone she knew. She & John were blessed with many special friends that blended them together as 'extended family' for most special occasions and celebrations through the years, especially Christmas; Easter; Birthdaysand Anniversaries! These memories brought such joy and many smiles to Eileen throughout her whole life. She and John had made their home in Plantation, Florida for 41 years before moving to Woodstock, CT in December of 2001 to live with their daughter, Chris, her husband, Michael and their large and active family. Eileen was pre-deceased by her husband, John T. Maloney, Sr. (2002); son, John T. Maloney, Jr.; and great granddaughter, Jessica Haley McGroary (2000). She leaves her daughter and son-in-law: Christina J. and Michael T. Durning of Woodstock, CT, with whom she made her home in 2001 until becoming a resident of Regency Heights in Danielson, CT. Eileen had five grandchildren and their spouses: Jennifer and John McGroary of Woodstock, CT; Julie and Will Spink of Woodstock, CT; Captain Andrew Durning - U.S. Marine Corps - and his wife, April Dawn (Cope) Durning of New Bern, NC; Matthew and Karen (Gorman) Durning of Putnam, CT; Hannah Durning of Woodstock, CT, ten great grandchildren, Kaylla Owen: Kaylin Durning; Emily Owen; Sean McGroary; Korrin Durning; Justin McGroary; Eric McGroary; Ashley Durning; Stephen Durning & Evelyn Rose Durning. A Mass of Christian Burial will be Saturday, August 28, 2010 at 11:00 AM at St. Mary Church of the Visitation, 218 Providence Street, Putnam, CT. There are no calling hours. Burial will follow the Mass in St Mary Cemetery, Providence Street, Putnam. Memorial donations may be made in Eileen's memory to the Helen B. Hoffman Plantation Library; 501 N. Fig Tree Lane, Plantation, FL 33317 - (954) 797-2140 - [Memorial Gift Form Available On Line At - www.plantation.org/Library ] To share a memory with her family, "Light a Candle" at www.smithandwalkerfh.com