Eileen L. Engebregtsen
Our beautiful mother, Eileen
Lorraine Engebregtsen, 91, formerly of North Fond du Lac, went to be with her
Lord and Savior on Saturday, August 17, 2019, at the Fond du Lac Lutheran Home
and Health Services. She was born on February 19, 1928, in Milwaukee, WI, the
daughter of Daniel and Alvina Quigley. On April 24, 1948, she married Christian
L. “Chris” Engebregtsen at St. Matthias Church in West Allis.
Mom passed away surrounded by
the love and presence of her children, her grandchildren, great-grandchildren,
a special niece, Mary Ann Rauworth, her great-great-grandchild, many friends
and caregivers.
Our beautiful mother was always
a hard worker, from a childhood helping with chores on the family farm to
working at Wells Manufacturing, Inc. while raising her own family. After retirement,
she spent an additional ten years cleaning Friar Tuck’s Restaurant in the early
mornings.
Above all, she was a loving and
caring person. While enjoying High School, she was required to drop out and
care for her mother following a major surgery. After her marriage, she devoted
her time to nurturing twelve children, and at times, a few neighbors, too. She
referred to this hectic time as “the best years of her life.”
When dad became seriously ill,
mom spent over twenty years giving her best efforts to caring for him. Shortly
after he died, she became disabled herself. For the past twelve years, it has
been our family mission to give mom the best and happiest life we could, in
spite of her frailties. Until very recently, she never had to miss a family
event or holiday, and while the celebrations will continue, they will now have
a huge hole in the middle of them. Our hearts are broken, but we rejoice that
her pain has ended.
While everyone had their part in
guarding mom’s well-being these past years, we want to be sure that we thank
our sister and brother-in-law, Susan and Alan Kennedy, for welcoming mom and
caring for her in their home for eight years. And also thank you to our sister,
Karen and brother-in-law Dave, for helping her be a “snow bird” for several seasons,
a status she was very proud to claim. It was a rare day when mom didn’t have visitors
or something to do with her family.
Mom was preceded in death by her
parents; her husband, Chris; an infant son, Paul; her son-in-law, Al Lueck. She
was also preceded in death by five sisters; three brothers; and by Chris’
parents; his five brothers; and one sister.
Mom is survived by two brothers-in-law,
Joseph Brouillet and Jerry Waldvogel; five daughters, Christine Sprout of Milwaukee,
Bonnie Lueck of Fond du Lac; Karen (David) Schroeder of Jupiter, FL, Linda (Gary)
Jacobs of Lomira, Susan (Alan) Kennedy of Rosendale. She is also survived by
her seven sons, David (Mary) of Fond du Lac, Stephen (Sandy) of Menomonee Falls,
Jim of Glenwood, Minnesota, Daniel (Sandy) of Van Dyne, Christian “Tom” (special
friend Jo), John of Van Dyne, Allen “Alby” (Lynn) of North Fond du Lac. In
addition, she is survived by many nieces, nephews, relatives and friends that
she cherished. Her legacy carries on with her surviving twenty-five
grandchildren and thirty-four great-grandchildren and two on the way. She
enjoyed her great-great-grandchild and the fact that she was part of a 5-generation
family. Mom’s pride and joy was her family and she would always tell us, “All
dad and I want is for you to all stay together.”
Visitation will take place on
Saturday, August 24, 2019, from 9-11 AM at Presentation Church, 705 Michigan
Ave, North Fond du Lac, WI, 54937. A Funeral Mass will follow the visitation at
church at 11:00 AM. Entombment will follow the service at Shrine of Rest
Mausoleum, Ledgeview Memorial Park.
Additional information and
guestbook can be found by visiting ueckerwitt.com