Eleanor A. Batka

ELEANOR A. BATKA (NEE GUSTAVSON)
Eleanor A. Batka (nee Gustavson) died May 10, 2011 following a long illness. She was 77. Eleanor was born in 1933 in the East Side community of Chicago during the Great Depression. The youngest of three siblings, she attended Gallistal Elementary School and Bowen High School. Eleanor married Michael Batka in 1951. They raised three children: Linda, Michael and Elaine. Eleanor and Michael lived in Chicago and Burnham before moving to South Holland in 1966 and then to Crown Point in 1995. Eleanor was a home maker, mother and business executive. She was a real estate associate in Illinois and a real estate broker in Indiana. Eleanor was an active member of the Burnham PTA. She was a Girl Scout troop leader in South Holland and Burnham as well as a troop organizer and co-chairwoman of day camp activities for the Calumet Region Girl Scouts of America. Eleanor was a talented pianist who also enjoyed sewing and needlepoint. Her spirited renditions of Chopin songs helped inspire others in the family to become musicians. Eleanor is survived by her husband of 59 years, Michael; daughter and son-in-law: Linda and Fred Keith; son and daughter-in-law: Michael Batka and Kate Schippers; daughter, Elaine Goodman; granddaughter, Jeni Piaseczny and her husband, Greg; granddaughter, Sarah Stegeman and her husband, Blake; granddaughter, Christie Batka; and great- granddaughter, Autumn Stegeman. Preceded in death by her parents: Jennie and Alfred Gustavson; brother, Robert Gustavson; sister; Jean Ross; and grandson, Jason Keith. Visitation Friday, May 13, 2011 from 2:00-5:00 p.m. and 7:00-9:00 p.m. Funeral services Saturday, May 14, 2011 at 10:30 a.m. at Elmwood Funeral Chapel, 11300 W. 97th Lane. (1/2 block west of US 41/Wicker Ave. at 97th St.) St. John, IN. Interment Holy Cross Cemetery. For info: (219) 365-3474. www.elmwoodchapel.com