Eileen E. Grill's Obituary
Eileen E. Grill, age 96, of Oshkosh passed away peacefully at Bethel Home on June 10, 2015. She was born in Oshkosh on June 21, 1918, the daughter of Wallace and Elizabeth (Elsie Nigl) Kirsch, and married Raymond J. Grill on May 5, 1951. He preceded her in death on May 31, 1972. The second oldest of ten children, Eileen grew up across from South Park taking care of her brothers and sisters whom she loved dearly. Her family, including her husband, children, grandchildren, parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, were the center of her life. She showed her love and kindness in so many ways including taking care of children whenever needed, remembering everyone’s birthday, sewing her special towels, keeping the cookie jar filled for grandkids, and being the caregiver of her aging parents. Ray and Eileen were quite a team helping relatives with household fix-it projects, health care, and whatever was needed by their extended families. She was a talented seamstress creating beautiful quilts, new dresses for the big dance, Barbie and American Girl doll clothes, and handmade items for the church craft sales. For many years, her circle of friends made rosaries for the missions meeting at each other’s homes – the faster they talked the more rosaries were made! Eileen was a devout Catholic and lifetime member of St.Vincent Catholic Church serving as a member of Christian Women’s Society, the Rosary Club and the Crafts Group. She attended St. Vincent School and Oshkosh Business College and was an excellent student instilling her love of learning into her children and grandchildren. She worked as the secretary to the Oshkosh Fire Chief and often told of her earlier years as a chocolate dipper at Bernstein’s Candy store as she was expertly whipping up the chocolate creations for the holidays. Eileen was a proud veteran of World War II serving in the Women’s Army Corps. Her loving memory will be cherished forever by: three daughters - Doris Knight (Las Vegas), Marybeth Jackson and Dr. Patricia Frohrib (both of Oshkosh); seven grandchildren - Edward Jackson, Kathryn and Michael Frohrib (all of Oshkosh), Marie (Sean) Cunningham and Peter (Kathryn Martell) Knight (all of Las Vegas), James Knight and Jennifer (Ray) Smukowski (all of Milwaukee); three great-grandchildren - Leilani, Kathleen and Jeffrey; and five great-great grandchildren. She is further survived by two brothers - Peter Kirsch (Oshkosh) and James Kirsch (Minneapolis), sister-in-law Barbara Grill (Oshkosh) and many special nieces and nephews in Oshkosh, Minnesota, Virginia, D.C., New Mexico, Nevada and beyond. Eileen was preceded in death by her: parents, husband, sons-in-law - Peter Knight and Patrick Frohrib, great-granddaughter Michelle Monk; four sisters - Dolores (Leo) Steckbauer, Joselia (Lawrence) Muehrer, Phyllis Kirsch, and Elizabeth (Dr. Charles) Officer; three brothers - Richard (Audrey) Kirsch, Ralph (Ruth) Kirsch, Wallace Kirsch; sisters-in-law - Joan Kirsch, Helen Grill, Adeline (Clarence) Gintner; and brothers-in-law - Alois Grill, Howard Grill, and Eugene (Marion) Grill. A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, June 15, 2015 at St. Jude Parish – St. Vincent site in Oshkosh with Father William Vande Kreeke officiating. Visitation will be from 9:30 until the time of the service. The family extends sincere gratitude to the caring staff of Bethel Home for helping to enhance her last few years with us.
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