Eleanor Engstrand

1908 - 2016

Eleanor Engstrand

Eleanor Engstrand died Saturday, November 12th, at the age of 108. Born in Los Angeles in 1908 she was the eldest child of Chester and Evelyn Robinson. Mrs. Engstrand grew up in the Sacramento valley and Berkeley. She attended Berkeley High school and UC Berkeley earning master's degrees in History and Library Sciences. On leaving school she worked for the Los Angeles County Public Library and later for many years for the UC Berkeley Library. She was married to Warren Engstrand for twenty years. After his death in 1967 she moved to Ben Lomond with her beloved partner Marge Frantz.
Mrs. Engstrand was devoted to her family and had a deep concern for peace and social justice. She was a member of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Sierra Club. She loved her work at the library in Berkeley and enjoyed home making, gardening and reading. She felt lucky to have spent many summers in the High Sierras.
Mrs. Engstrand is survived by her children Jean Christina Engstrand and Richard Engstrand and her grandsons Cameron McLaughlin, Wesley Engstrand and Ryan Engstrand-Akers and her two great grandsons Carl and Victor Akers.
Eleanor Engstrand was a woman of remarkable kindness, generosity, intelligence and grace. Respected and loved by her many friends, she will be sorely missed by everyone who knew her. She was a devoted member of the Santa Cruz Friends Meeting. A memorial service will be held at the Friends Meeting House, 225 Rooney Street in Santa Cruz on February 18, 2017 at 1:00pm. Contributions may be sent to the Friends meeting or to a charity of your choice.