Eleanor Louise Buchinski

Eleanor Louise (Stillman) Buchinski died peacefully at age 87 on February 27 after a brief illness, surrounded by family and beloved caregivers and staff at Pond Home in Wrentham. She was born on January 16, 1932, to Allen and Eleanor (Whipple) Stillman and grew up in Laceyville, Pennsylvania with two older siblings, Nancy and David. She attended Centenary College in New Jersey then moved to Rochester, New York for a job at Eastman Kodak. While in Rochester she met and later married Joseph Buchinski. In 1955, they moved to Wrentham, Massachusetts where they raised five children. Joe died in 2005. Soon after, Eleanor moved to Pond Home.

 

Eleanor had a smile that could light up a room. She was warm and generous to all. She was fun-loving, good-natured, and mischievous. She loved music, had a lovely soprano singing voice, and was the organist for St. Mary’s Church in Wrentham for many years. She volunteered for hospice and later delivered meals on wheels. She enjoyed her years at Pond Home, loved sitting in the sun in the summer, watching the birds outside her window, and delighting the staff with her various antics. In a Pond Home profile written about Eleanor: “the fun quota was amped up immediately upon Eleanor’s arrival.”

 

She was immensely proud of her family and leaves five children—Anne, Allen, Joan, Julie, John—one son-in-law (Marc), three daughters-in-law (Maria, Deborah, Maura), ten grandchildren (Erin, Erica, Natalie, Colin, Eli, Ezra, Sarah, Connor, Talia, Ronan), a sister-in-law (Rose), many dear nieces and nephews, and the caregivers and staff at Pond Home who became family.

 

As per her wishes, her body was donated to Harvard Medical School. A gathering in her memory will be held by the family at the Community Center at Pond Meadow, 279 East St., Wrentham on Saturday May 18, 2019 from 1-4pm. The family would like to thank the Delaney Funeral Home with their assistance. Please visit their website to post a tribute. Donations in her memory may be made to Catholic Relief Services.