Eleanor Trzeciak Lechert

On February 18, 2018, Eleanor Trzeciak Lechert peacefully passed away. She was the beloved wife of the late Frank William Lechert, Jr.; devoted mother of Barbara Mary McCully and her husband William, Veronica Lechert Harshman, Cynthia Lechert Claude, John “Jack" Kennedy Lechert and his wife Kathleen, and the late Frank William Lechert, III; loving grandmother of Brian W. McCully, Scott T. McCully, Nicole E. Lechert and her fiancé Samuel Nicolette, and Ryan M. Lechert; dear sister of Paul R. Trzeciak, and the late Marie T. Link and Vera A. Doyle; cherished sister-in-law of Lawrence J. Doyle. Also survived by many loving nieces and nephews, as well as extended family members and friends.

Relatives and friends are invited to gather at Schimunek Funeral Home, Inc. 9705 Belair Rd., Nottingham, MD 21236, on Thursday and Friday, February 22nd and 23rd from 3-5 and 7-9PM. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday at 10AM at Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church (Middle River, MD). Interment services will follow at Holly Hill Memorial Gardens. If desired, memorial contributions may be made in Eleanor’s name to the American Heart Association 2117 E. Redwood St., Baltimore, MD 21201. Online tributes may be left for the family at www.schimunekfuneralhomes.com

Eulogy for Mom

February 24, 2018

Veronica Lechert Harshman, daughter

Good morning, everyone! We are happy to see so many of our family and friends here today to help us celebrate my Mom’s life, which was a long, rich and full one!

(-- I’ll introduce myself as Mom’s second daughter and my siblings: Barbara, Cynthia, Jack – and of course Frank, our youngest, in memoriam. --)

Today I’d just like to share some stories with you about my Mom to give you a real idea of how amazing a woman she was. (So, Mom, I’m going to concentrate on you today and hope I give you the justice you deserve.)

I decided to use the letters of her first name to come up with the words to accurately describe her. So, for the first “E” in ELEANOR…

E has two descriptors:

*** EVER-EVOLVING and: 1) My 93-year old Mom was still learning, and her mind was sharp as a tack to the very end.

She watched and commented on the news and changed her views when appropriate. She could remember words, names of people and events often faster than I could. She said she would make associations in her mind and that’s how she could recall names at times. I don’t think she read about this process; I think she just came up with that little trick on her own.

*** ENERGETIC: 2) Mom always wanted to be busy.

My Mom permanently lived with my younger sister, Cynthia. In years past, she used to alternate weeks between Cynth’s home and my brother Jack’s and his wife Kathy’s. They would often find her standing on chairs dusting the tops of cabinets and furniture, cleaning windows, cleaning out Kitty litters, sweeping floors and washing clothes. After I retired, Mom DROVE to my home on Monday morning, usually stayed for 3 days, then DROVE back to Cynth’s on Thursday. (Yes…she still drove and always wanted that independence.) First thing she’d ask when she walked in my door was “Ron, what do you want me to do for you today?” I’d say, “Mom why don’t you just come in and relax for a while.” Honestly, sometimes she exhausted me just trying to think of things to keep her busy, but she always had her knitting in tow… and she was a knitting machine.

At all 3 of our homes, neighbors would often see her: weeding our gardens, planting flowers, sweeping pavements, and in the past, cleaning Cynth’s pool. She was also famous for watering plants indoors, choosing a week to feather dust the furniture on both floors of my house, vacuum both floors the next day, etc.

My friends would often say, “Send her over! She can stay with me anytime!”

My friend, Alvera, wrote: "Mom" was a bright light and seemed to have boundless energy that she channeled into ways to be helpful or thoughtful. The BLOSMS (as we nicknamed ourselves when we were younger) will always remember "The Year of the Scarves" when Eleanor made a beautiful scarf for each of us for Christmas. And, of course, we will remember Ron's Christmas tree, (which Mom) decorated each year with love and perfection. We are so sorry for the family's loss and know that Eleanor will be dearly missed."

… and THEY love her and will miss her too.

L *** LOVED & LOVING:

Little children –Everywhere we went she’d point them out saying how cute they were or laugh at what they were doing and play with them. She so LOVED children, she decided to open her own Daycare Center in her home back in the mid-80’s when my Dad was showing early forms of Alzheimer’s. She decided to enlist his help with the children which also made him feel useful and functional. He joyfully followed her lead with the children they so tenderly cared for and she LOVED my Dad…

… and THEY all LOVED her…

Of course, the main people she loved were her own children, and extended family. She glowed whenever her son, Jack, called to say he was stopping by for a visit. Of course, Barb, Cynth and/or I, depending on where Mom was staying, were very happy too because we got a chance to visit with him also. Mom looked forward to her doctor’s visits with Barb because she could count on a lunch date that day. Cynth and I took her to church once every weekend and we always went to various restaurants after that. I have to add when I had back surgery in Feb 2016, and I was on a walker for 4 months, she would have no one else stay with me but her; she was 91 at that time and she took care of me.

…We ALL LOVE her and will miss her…

E *** ENJOYED LIFE: Mom Enjoyed so many things. Most of all – Enjoyed being anywhere with her children and family:

We regularly watched her game shows: 1. Morning, it was Let’s Make a Deal and the Price is Right. She became very good at saying who was too high or low at the end of the game.) At Night, Family Feud, Jeopardy & Wheel of Fortune. She would often tell me, “Cynth would have gotten that one!”

She also ENJOYED Music and Musicals: I remember driving home from weddings, as a child, and she and my Dad would sing all the songs from the wedding. Of course, Barb and I learned a lot of the words and were eventually able to sing along with them. Later in life, after her two boys Jack and Frank, her baby who is not here today, were about 10 and 12. They would put on performances of the Beatles in our basement with Frank on guitar and Jack on the drums. We had so much fun growing up together...

The 3 of us girls and Mom enjoyed Toby’s buffet and musicals 4 to 5 times/year. Our 50th was last year. This year we went on her 93rd birthday on Jan. 21st. The announcer usually made lots of jokes about people and their ages, but that day he simply came over and kissed my Mom on the cheek and gave her the respect she so richly deserved! It was very heartwarming…

One of her most favorite things to do was playing the slot machines at Del. Park or any casino where anyone would offer to take her. We often went with my cousins, Mike and Shirl, and my Uncle Larry and Aunt Vera. Jack would sometimes join us. Larry and I would play the horses if they were running, meet up with them for lunch, then back to our respective gambling venues. We all had a blast and shared our win/loss stories on the way home. You can always tell which pictures of my Mom were from Del Park because her smile was so big and genuine.

In January of this year, Mom and I took probably our third trip to Del Park, just the two of us. Since it was her birthday month, she received $$$ coupons to put into the machines and for lunch, so of course we HAD to go. That day was the grandest of all. She put $20 into a machine and walked away with $100. She put $100 into the machines and hit for another $120. She was very happy that day and I was so glad I agreed to take her.

We belong to St Joseph parish, and participate in many of their functions. One of our annual favorites is their Crab feast in August. Besides Mom, her children and their spouses and friends, Brian, Scott, Nicki and Ryan, her grandchildren, often attended. As time went on, the Doyles joined us and made it their annual event as well. Friends of Cynth’s, Mike and Mary, comment every year they wouldn’t miss it because it’s never a dull moment with the Lecherts.

The last event she attended was the annual Oyster Roast at SFA. Many of our school friends were there who came over to share old times and talk with her

…They ALL love Mom and will miss her as well…

A *** Besides being ADORABLE, I like to think of her as AGED TO PERFECTION:

“To the family of Eleanor - your mom was a force to be reckoned with; so full of boundless energy and helpfulness” was a quote from our friend, Hecky. I thought this perfectly summed up my Mom. Although her body failed her, but only in the very end, she continually soaked in all her life experiences and truly became the best person she could have been.

N *** NAUGHTY… but NICE:

There were many things my Mom did that we would caution her about overdoing because of her breathing problems.

Just last Fall she was still mulching. While Cynth was at work, my Mom drove to Home Depot, dragged the bags out of her trunk, scooped the mulch out and mulched the bushes in front of Cynth’s house. --- When Vacuuming, we’d caution her about the rigorous cleaning at our homes. She would always defend herself by promising to sit down and rest when she had to. I watched her do that many times… The “rest times” became more frequent, so she started leaving the vacuum running so I wouldn’t know. I never let her know, I did.

---Sometimes we would lose her during the day. Cynth or Barb would be unable to reach her, and I would have to begin my little search adventure around her neighborhood hangouts where she got her hair cut, nails done or just back over to Cynth’s. The last time that happened I was calling her name outside of Cynth’s home and she sheepishly came out of Cynth’s huge garden with her little sunhat on, laughing. I couldn’t even get angry with her, I was so happy to find her.

and of course,

…We love her and will miss that impish side of her too…

O *** ORGANIZED, ORNERY, but truly and totally OPTIMISTIC:

“I feel fine!” This was her common response to everyone she met when asked how she was doing. Unfortunately, this was her response even to her doctors. “They can’t fix what they don’t know, Mom.” We had to keep telling her they "wanted" to hear her complaints.

R *** Besides being a truly REMARKABLE woman, she was very RESILIENT:

She had to overcome the death of most of her family peers and cousins, outside of her older brother Paul, whom she dearly loved, and her brother-in-law, Larry, who often called each other to see how the other was doing. She sincerely mourned the death of both of her younger sisters, Marie and Vera.

Our youngest brother Frank was 36 when his life ended tragically on Apr 20, 2000. I never saw her so sad and grief-stricken. But what did she do? She turned her attention totally to my Dad, who was then bed-ridden with Alzheimer’s. She did everything for him for a year: feeding and bathing him, learning how to change his bed sheets with him still in the bed, managing all his meds and finally calling all of us when she knew his time had come. That was on Jan 1, 2001 (01/01/01)

My friend, Pat Fitzpatrick, wrote so aptly to our family: "Take comfort that your devotion to your vibrant mother allowed her to live her life to the fullest and let go peacefully when your Dad, brother, and God were ready to welcome her to heaven."

… THEY ALL LOVE HER ... SHE LOVES THEM ... AND NOW THEY'RE ALL TOGETHER AGAIN…

And so, Mom, I truly believe we did everything we could to save you, and you certainly did more than anyone could expect to save yourself. However,

... We will Always love you and Already miss you…

And so, at this time, I’d like to extend our heartwarming thanks to everyone here for all the prayers and support you have provided each one of us.

Please join us now in Father Kevin’s celebration of Mass in honor of our dear Mom and Grandmother, Eleanor Trzeciak Lechert! ... Father Kevin ...