Has a Death Occurred? We Are Available 24/7 (360) 523-2489
Call Us Live Chat
Tribute Wall
Plant a tree in memory of Eileen
An environmentally friendly option
Provide comfort for the family by sending flowers or planting a tree in memory of Eileen Engel.
Guaranteed hand delivery by a local florist
Loading...
d
The family of Eileen Engel uploaded a photo
Friday, June 1, 2018
/tribute-images/464344/Ultra/Eileen-Engel.jpg
Please wait
B
Bruce Schoonmaker posted a condolence
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Eileen Engel will always remain Mrs. Engel to me. I remember her much as I would a treasured painting, or perhaps a great tapestry which was being woven throughout my life. My impressions span a period of fifty years with most enmeshed in the first twenty.
It began in 1958 when I was 13 years old. She and Pete, whom I always knew as Brother Engel, welcomed the Schoonmaker family to Aberdeen, Washington. We had just moved from the plains of western Oklahoma. She and Pete had been called to the little Southern Baptist Church in Aberdeen the year before. Already at the church were Jim & Eulala Compton and their family who also had ties to western Oklahoma. All three families either had common friends or knew each other. For the next twenty years the lives of our families were intertwined with what became Aberdeen Avenue Baptist Church.
I thought Mrs. Engel was pretty, as only a 13-year-old boy can. In my mind Mrs Engel was always an extension of Brother Engel, as he was of her. They were a package deal. And isn't that how marriage is supposed to work?
Thinking back on the tapestry of Mrs. Engel's life I see her playing the piano. She anchored that position at the church as long as I was there. During Sunday School she would always disappear back into the children's area of the church, but I did not think too much about that back then. I see her sweeping up construction debris at the end of a Saturday of working on the new Aberdeen Avenue Baptist Church building, with Brother Engel, dressed in carpenter's overalls and cap, stopping briefly to say something to her. In another image she has her hair tied up in a scarf, helping refinish the old theater seats which would become seating in the church auditorium. Again, after the Sunday morning postlude she is moving to the back of the church to greet people with a big smile.
Other images involve the family. She is joyfully holding a small daughter, Becki, with Brother Engel proudly at her side. But wait! The next image shows a small white bundle of baby Susan with Brother Engel proudly holding Becki. After this comes a multitude of images of a smiling Mrs. Engel and proud Brother Engel with varying sizes of Becki and Susan. She was a proud mother and grandmother! She deeply loved her family.
Wife, mother, helper, piano player; all describe Mrs. Engel.
Add to the list, cheerful. Mrs. Engel was optimistic. She was a child of God, born again and saved by the blood of Jesus Christ shed for our sins. She rejoiced in Jesus' resurrection!
When I was married and old enough to be confided in, Mrs. Engel expressed discouragement about a variety of issues -- the church, ministry problems, family and finances. There is some dark thread in the tapestry here. Yet underlying everything were golden threads of faith that God was in charge and in Jesus things would work out right.
A pastor's wife bears much. Mrs. Engel was a pastor's wife. She felt a strong calling to the mission of God's work in Aberdeen Avenue Baptist Church. Aberdeen was not an easy mission venue. As the supporting partner in the ministry, most of her personal support came from Brother Engel. One time she remarked that she didn't think she could make it if Pete didn't tell her he loved her two or three times a day. He did and she did. Perhaps we know now what he stopped to say as she was sweeping up that pile of trash in the earlier picture.
Nancy, my wife, remarked to me that Mrs. Engel always made her feel special. She made us all feel special! What a wonderful attribute!
Someone has noted that in our declining years we are gradually reduced more and more to the essence of who we are. A grouch will get grouchier; a person with a mean streak will get meaner; the angry will get angrier. Mrs. Engel's friend, Carole Rodgers, has time and again expressed the essence of the one we remember today. "Mrs. Engel is such a sweet lady." By God's grace, a sweet lady!
We will miss her very much.
E
Elizabeth posted a condolence
Thursday, May 7, 2009
I only knew Eileen for a few months, as she and my mother were roomates at Olympia Manor. What a kind disposition she always kept. She presented a strong example to all of unselfishnes and gratitude. I think of her and miss her, even with knowing her just a short time. I am sure she touched many the same way.
M
MARY ANN SMILEY MISTRETTA posted a condolence
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
I AM SORRYTO HEAR ABOUT YOUR LOSS EILEEN.I KNOW YOU WILL MISS HER.SHE IS HAPPY NOW WITH GOD.SINCERLY MARYANN MISTRETTA
C
Carl Grobey posted a condolence
Sunday, May 3, 2009
I am a former classmate of Susan's. We played in the Weatherwax orchestra together. I saw Eileen's obituary in the Daily World, and wanted to express my condolences.
May the Lord bring you the comfort of His presence at this time.
Sincerely,
Carl Grobey
cj@cpcinternet.com
Copyright © 2022 | Terms of use & privacy Policy