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BORN
1921
DIED
2015
Eileen Hume Obituary
1921 ~ 2015
Eileen grew up on Seattle's Capitol Hill when it was still widely referred to as Catholic Hill. After 12 years at Holy Names, she graduated from Seattle University. She came from a strong Irish oriented family.
Eileen married, had two children, and the family moved to Beaux Arts Village on Lake Washington. When the marriage ended in the mid 1950's she began teaching high school in Rochester and then Issaquah. Working summers she secured her Masters Degree at Western and entered college administration, first at Gonzaga University and then at Moorhead State University in Minnesota.
During her over twenty years at Moorhead she was a campus and community leader for women's rights. Eileen had a deep commitment to helping young people, particularly women going through difficulties, set and achieve goals. Her responsibilities included being the foreign student advisor which resulted in having friends she enjoyed visiting in Afghanistan, Africa, China, Japan, Mexico and many other places she found fascinating. She attended the UN's International Women's Conference in Nairobi. People came from around the world to Seattle for a celebration of her 75th birthday and over 100 people sent letters, organized into a powerful book, describing ways she had influenced their lives.
Convinced the mountains shaped people, she strongly encouraged (at times demanded) friends, children, nieces, nephews and grandchildren to experience the Cascades with her. She summited Mt. Rainier to celebrate her 50th birthday. Returning to Seattle upon retirement, Eileen engaged with intensity in skiing, rowing, tennis, sailing, and hiking into her eighties. She was tremendously appreciative of the many welcoming people in Masters Ski Racing; the Mt Baker Rowing Center and the Mountaineers.
To give her two grandsons an understanding of their Irish heritage, Eileen took them each on long bicycling trips around Ireland. During her years after returning to Seattle, she had three large, friendly dogs each of which gave her pure joy as they accompanied her on long hikes and daily activities.
Eileen Lyons Hume was a smart, tough, and exceptionally determined woman. When stricken by Alzheimer's she exemplified Dylan Thomas's message,
"Do not go gently into that
dark night, Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
We will miss her concise, direct statements over cups of strong black tea.
Eileen is survived by her son Jarlath, daughter Robin, grandchildren Shea Hume and Cory Hume, great grandchildren Nicole and Colleen, brother Dan Lyons and sister Sheila Leewens. There are nieces, nephews, former students, and friends with whom she had a special relationship.
A memorial will be held on Saturday, March 28 at 2pm at St. Ignatius Chapel on the Seattle University campus.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Eileen Hume
Sponsored by The Family.
Patti Anderson
October 7, 2015
Apologies for this late posting but I just received the Alum magazine and saw that Eileen had passed away.
Eileen Hume was my tennis coach for three years in the late seventies, early eighties at what was MSC then. There were only a handful of players and we traveled in the school van to matches from UND, UMD and U of M. We were a tight knit group. I wish we had a recording of our conversations on these long trips with Eileen as they were fascinating! She was amazing and had such vital energy and purpose. She was a positive role model for all of us on the team and a wonderful mentor for me too. During our tennis team travels, she talked a lot about her children and how she missed them since she moved to Moorhead, but was very proud of them and the wonderful adults they had become. We also heard about her adventures hiking in Afghanistan and other parts of the world too. Very cool stuff!
When I was a senior I had been called to do jury duty and missed two weeks of a class that I needed for my major to graduate. The instructor refused to give me an alternate assignment (all the work was graded in class) and I would have failed the class (was on the honor roll at the time) and not graduated. I didn't know that legally he couldn't do that, but he obviously knew that and was going to do it any way (new teacher that year). I was young, naive and devastated. I asked Eileen for advice and she marched immediately over to that instructor's office and set him straight on a few things. I graduated and was eternally grateful for her support and friendship.
I am so glad that she got to know her grandparents as our son who is now 24 has vague memories of his grandparents as he was very young when they passed. What a gift also to bike around Ireland!
Eileen may be physically gone from this earth but you can be sure there is a star out there in the night sky that is hers, shining brightly down on us all.
Patti Anderson
Plymouth, Minnesota
Richard Gruchalla
June 20, 2015
Robin and family
Your mother was a lovely woman. I did not know her well, but I did attend Minnesota State University Moorhead, and there was not a person (especially the women) on campus that did not respect, trust, and love Eileen Hime.
I'm sorry to hear of her passing, and I send my sympathy for your loss.
March 15, 2015
Aunt Eileen, I miss you soundly. Growing up, you gave me guidance when I needed it, took me and my sisters on vigorous hikes and left us breathless from exertion in our teens when others thought we were difficult to relate to. You showed by example how women could be strong and opinionated. You were a beacon of sanity in my life. You showed me it was OK not to suffer fools gladly. My love, Nicky Leewens Seaberg
Jim Higgins
March 11, 2015
RIP Eileen
Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary
March 10, 2015
Dear Robin and Family,
We Sisters of the Holy Names send you our prayerful sympathy as you give Eileen back to her loving Creator. May your Mother's new life in God's Presence be a deep source of peace for you all, and may you know her nearness often.
March 10, 2015
Eileen, R.I.P. : We have some lovely memories of your visits to Ireland and our visit to Seattle. Deepest sympathies to Jarlath, Robin, Sheila, Dan, Shea, Cory and all the immediate family. Pat & Sally Higgins, Mayo, Ireland.
Janet Vincent
March 10, 2015
May your many memories of Eileen bring you peace, comfort and smiles. She had a full life that she willingly shared with many. It was my good fortune to have been one of her ski racing pals. Blessings.
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