Loula May Eissinger

Loula May Eissinger of Rolla, Missouri passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Wednesday, September 20, 2023, at Silverstone Place in Rolla at the age of 94. Loula was born in Licking, Missouri on November 2, 1928 to the late Jesse and Bessie (Driesel) Keeney.
Miss Loula May Keeney was united in marriage to the love of her life, Mr Karlheinz Eissinger on May 14, 1950. This union was then blessed with four children. After traveling throughout the United States with the USGS, Lou and Karl chose to settle down in Rolla to raise their family. Lou chose to stay home with the children and was definitely a hands-on mother. Lou was active in several organizations, the Lions Club, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and both the Redeemer and the Immanuel Lutheran Churches.
Lou (or Loulou to her grandchildren) thrived on raising her children. They arrived in church every Sunday in fully pressed clothes, because Lou ironed everything, from sheets to your underwear. She took the kids to swimming lessons every summer, and one summer she participated in the lessons herself. When Rolla closed their pool, well Lou just loaded the kids and took them to St. James each day. She cooked three meals a day, the kids attended the Lutheran School and didn't have a hot lunch program, so Lou routinely took her kids a hot lunch to school. She thoroughly enjoyed fishing, and gardening. Every spring Lou would set out her garden plan, plant, and weed it, anxiously awaiting the first ripe vegetables so she could begin to can, so that her family had fresh vegetables all year long. What she didn't can Lou was gracious to share her bounty with family, friends, and neighbors. Her finest quality was her patience, an inherent ability to listen, to absorb, and to offer a point of view based on quiet, measured wisdom. Finally, every day of her 59 years of marriage, she taught her children and grandchildren what it meant to be a great wife. She married her sweetheart, they laughed together, cried together, and were totally dedicated to each other. We bid farewell as we mourn the loss of a lively and dignified soul, a soul that brought joy and fulfillment to many, and whose legacy will live forever.
Loula May Eissinger is survived by her children, Richard Eissinger and wife Paige, of Rolla, MO, Steve Eissinger and wife Kathy, of Union, MO, and Theresa Harney and husband David, of Hannibal, MO; grandchildren, Jacob Bagnall, Hannah Bagnall, Nicholas Bagnall, Thomas Bagnall, Madeline Harney, Kayla Eads, Jared Eissinger, and Kitty Thurston; great-grandchildren Kambria Cannon, Joseph Geffert, John Geffert, Tyler Hicks, Sean Hicks, Sophia Dolan, Natalie Sandifer, Tessa Sandifer, Jax Sandifer, Tenley Eads, Lanna Eads and Mila Eads; sister, Anna Belle Yock, of Owassa, OK; a host of nieces, nephews, extended family and friends. In addition to her parents Jesse, and Bessie Keeney, Lou was preceded in death by her husband, Karlheintz Eissinger in 2009; daughter Beatrice (Bea) Thurston; eight siblings Webb Keeney, Jessie Keeney, Charles Keeney, Jerri Tomlin, Sandra Hughes, Arville Keeney and Elouise Middleton.
Funeral services will be held on Monday, September 25, 2023 at 11:00 AM at the Redeemer Lutheran Church in Rolla with Pastor Nathan Kuhlman officiating. Interment will follow at Ozark Hills Memorial Gardens, where Lou will be laid to rest beside her beloved Karl. A visitation for family and friends will be held at the Church prior to the service from 10AM until service time. Memorials are suggested and appreciated to The Rolla Animal Shelter, cards are available at all James & Gahr locations.