Eleanor Luhrs Willig

Eleanor Luhrs Willig

Fairfax, VA - April 11, 1928 to January 22, 2020

Eleanor Luhrs Willig passed away at home (Fairfax VA) on January 22, 2020 after a short illness. She was preceded in death by her husband Donald, her son Kenneth, and her sister Dorothy (Luhrs) Drewes. Eleanor was born on April 11, 1928 to Julius and Meta Luhrs and grew up in the Bronx, New York City. To her dismay, she attended the only public all-girls school in the City during the 1940s. She graduated high school in 1946 with a NY State Regents degree. Eleanor married Donald Willig during the Great Snowstorm of NYC (25" of snow) on December 27, 1947. She moved with Donald to the University of Illinois in Champaign. From there, they lived in Dallas (Texas); Morristown (New Jersey), Rockville (Maryland), and Manassas (Virginia). Besides raising three children, Eleanor was an avid reader, enjoyed financial investing, and was deeply interested in national and world events. She was active in her church, St Thomas United Methodist Church in Manassas. In later years, she enjoyed taking cruises including Caribbean, Mediterranean, Canada, and Alaska. Her last cruise was in June 2019 when she went to Scotland. She was genuinely interested in people, kept up with the neighborhood through the kitchen window, and enjoyed many a lively driveway conversation. She is survived by her son Robert; daughter Susan, grandson/daughter Douglas and Alison (Rubin); and great-granddaughter Cameron. Visitation was at Fairfax Memorial Funeral Home on February 8, 2020 at 12:00 pm followed by a memorial service at 1:00 pm.