Eileen Van Garven Etzkorn of Huntsville, 94 1/2, recently passed away after a short illness. She was raised as a single child on a farm in North Dakota, where she drove farm horses and raised chickens. She was able to make all her own clothes from the age of 11. She attended Fullerton HS. She had a lifelong love of artistic pursuits such as decorating, painting, and creating beautiful (flower) gardens. After her BA in Home Economics from the University of North Dakota, her first big job was as a county extension agent in Washington State, later moving to Portland, Oregon, where she met her beloved husband, Bernard (“Bernie”). Bernie’s job as a civil engineer in the Forest Service took them from their first house in Portland on to Denver, Colorado, and later they settled and eventually retired in Albuquerque, over the years having 5 children. She organized the children to help with home chores, each of her children were raised to know how to cook and clean. Later on she added a MS in Library Science and worked for some years as the associate library director of Albuquerque High School. After retiring from the school she found success as a real estate agent in Albuquerque. Later in life she and Bernie moved to Huntsville to be near their eldest son, David. After Bernie’s death she moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, to be with her son Daniel. As her health declined she moved back to Alabama. Always feisty, very opinionated, and politically active, she was also a loving mother. She was very much an extrovert, loving to be with many people in a group, and always fearless in both words and actions.
Eileen was proceeded in death by her husband, Bernie, and her daughter Ann. She is survived by her sons David, Paul, Dan and Jim, as well as several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Arrangements are pending at this time.
