Eileen Philips Montgomery

Eileen Philips Montgomery
Eileen Montgomery, 45, died peacefully, with Steve, her husband, at her side, surrounded by family and in the loving care of the wonderful folks at the Levine Dickson Hospice House, on Saturday, June 4, 2011. She had been battling cancer for over three years.
She is survived by her husband, Steve Montgomery of Charlotte, NC and her three beautiful children Madeline (6), Maxwell (6), Eleanor (5) and her cherished, spoiled rotten with love, golden retriever-black lab mix, 'Bear', the family dog of 13 years. Eileen was also like family to Ike Anyachonkeya (23), her dear young friend whom she and Steve welcomed into their lives for the past 16 years, being introduced through the mentoring program, Big Brothers-Big Sisters of Charlotte.
She is also survived by her parents, Norman and Claire Philips of Stamford, CT, her four sisters and their husbands, Jeanne Philips-Roth and Eddie Roth of St. Louis, MO, Mary and Craig Nash of New Rochelle, NY, Karen and Tom Kennedy of White Plains, NY, Trish Philips and husband Jim Gutman of New York City. She also is survived by her in-laws Keith and Joanne Montgomery of Fairway, Kansas, sister-in-law Anne Hoffman and her family also of Fairway Kansas.
Eileen is loved dearly and admired by her 'Lucky 13' nieces and nephews. 'Aunt E' will be missed more than words can say.
Eileen and Steve were together for 20 years, first, having a long distance love affair, each traveling between New York City and Charlotte for 5 years. Their eyes met for the first time in 1991, while introduced by her date at the time, Steve's roommate. It was truly love at first sight and the beginning of best friends from that very first night. Eileen and Steve were married at the Church of the Resurrection on February 3, 1996 in Rye, NY.
Eileen was remarkable in cleverly balancing her professional life with that which was most important, her family. She was a loving and caring mother, adored beyond definition by her three beautiful children. A New Yorker to the core yet loving her life as a new Southerner, Eileen was charmed to have been called 'Mama'. Time with her children and her husband Steve always came first. 'You are my Sunshine' being sung to Maxwell, Madeline and Eleanor from the day they were born.
As a wife, confidante, best friend and lover, she was the woman of her husband Steve's dreams.
She was born Eileen Winifred Philips on October 15, 1965 in Larchmont, NY, where she spent all of her childhood and teen years, making more lifelong friends than one could count. Eileen was impossibly irresistible to anyone lucky enough to have ever crossed her path.
She attended Saints John and Paul Grammar School in Larchmont, NY. She graduated high school from the Academy of the Resurrection with the Class of 1983 in Rye New York.
Eileen graduated from Providence College in Providence Rhode Island. She was an excellent student and could find every party or pub in town with her eyes closed.
A consummate sailor since childhood, Eileen competed successfully, racing dinghy's on Long Island Sound during those times when summer was endless. She was forever drawn to the salt air and the sea. Her time spent on the water and, hidden in the peace and quietness of her beloved Bald Head Island with Steve and her children were Eileen's most favorite and cherished times of all.
She was an adventurer, a risk taker and traveler, making her way solo all across Europe with little more than a backpack, a good pair of hiking shoes, a Euro Rail pass and a few bucks.
Eileen has a select group of special friends who are all like angels in disguise, surrounding her with love, affection and help in her times of need that is beyond description. They were all dangerously fun to be with, particularly in the company of Eileen. She was indeed a fabulous instigator of many a good time with all of those who loved her just the way she was.
Eileen was a mover, a shaker and a force to be reckoned with in her decades long career that began as a sales rep to becoming a top-level executive in the home fashions industry. Feared by some and loved by many in her professional world, Eileen brought much heart and soul into her work, having equally as much fun in her working relationships as she did in voraciously performing every task in tremendous excess to achieve more than just getting the job done. Eileen's work ethic was unsurpassed. She spent years in most every position she held, exhibiting tremendous loyalty to building successful results for Springs Industries, Wamsutta, Pillowtex Corporation, Fieldcrest Cannon and most recently Santens of America. Eileen's family extends grateful and heartfelt thanks to her most recent employer, J.B Santens, Phil Tucker and the entire Santens company and family of Oudenaarde Belgium in providing Eileen such generous flexibility these past few years while she continued to 'move and shake' within the industry and simultaneously battle and receive cancer treatment.
It was Eileen's wish to make the strong recommendation that everyone receive a simple chest X-Ray during annual physical examinations. She was a non-smoker and had her cancer of the lung not been diagnosed in the early stages, her life would have ended much sooner. Packing 10 years of life with her family and friends into the last three would simply not have been possible. Thanks from the bottom of our hearts to Dr. William Bullock for this gift of time.
Eileen's family expresses boundless appreciation for the incredible level and quality of medical care and sincere concern she received from all of her partners in fighting her battle. Dr. Gary Frenette, Dr. Robert Fraser, Dr. Vishwa S. Raj and the entire team of fabulous, caring staff at Carolinas Medical Center-Main. A special thanks to Dr. Robert Lombard for helping us understand when the time had come to appreciate the end of life gifts we could provide for Eileen through the Levine Dickson Hospice House.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Charlotte; Chantilly Montessori School-Outdoor Learning Initiative and to the Levine Dickson Hospice House.
Services to celebrate the life of this extraordinary woman were held June 8th, 2011.
TH Robertson Funeral Service is serving the family. Online condolences may be made at www.throbertson.com.