Eleanore Violet Sackmann

A private service was held for Eleanore Sackmann at Terrace Heights Cemetery on Monday March 11, 2013. Eleanore died peacefully on Wednesday, March 6, 2013, just 81 days after the death of her life-long sweetheart, Dr Richard R Sackmann. We celebrate their devotion and now their reunion.

Eleanore was 89 years old. She was born on October 17, 1923 in Odessa, Washington the daughter of Jacob and Katherine (Pister) Schauerman. Eleanore attended Odessa High School where she excelled in basketball and won the state championship in tennis. She was an avid tennis player throughout her life. She loved to sing in a quartet and was the lead actress in a school play. She fell in love with her future husband of 68 years while playing the organ and piano for him as he sang in the church.

Eleanore spent her adult life as a dedicated loving wife supporting her husband through the rigors of medical school, military service and the building of a medical practice in Yakima. Her husband was stationed in Burtonwood England where she won a women’s golf tournament in 1954. A doting mother of four children, Eleanore was an active volunteer in the kid’s school activities and athletics. She also supported the Yakima community through various philanthropic organizations including Junior League and the Florence White Guild. When her children were younger, Eleanore celebrated the Christmas season by putting on the Sackmann Cookie Party. It became a Christmas tradition for friends and family. She was a multitalented, athletic woman. Eleanore was a graceful, tireless swimmer, the “Ester Williams” of the family. She went skiing with her husband and family at many destinations. She had a passion for music, drawing, painting, nature, landscapes, birds and flowers, and especially the backyard covey of quail. Eleanore had an amazing talent for planting and arranging gorgeous bouquets for her family and friends. Her passion lives on through her children and grandchildren. We will miss her dearly.

She was preceded in death by her husband Richard in December 2012, her parents and four brothers, Rueben, Ted, Mel and Art Schauerman and three sisters, Ester Schmauder, Evelyn Ottmar, and Harriet Kaufman. She is survived by her son Richard Sackmann and wife Shirley Baum Sackmann and the grandchildren, Christopher and wife Julia and great grand daughter Sophia, grandson Matthew and wife Lianna and great grandchild Jacob, daughter Susan Jonsson and husband Dwight Jonsson and grandsons Dwight and Andrew Jonsson, daughter Christine Ehlers and husband Ken Ehlers, son David Sackmann and wife Robin and grandchildren Carey, William and Trevor Sackmann; and her sister Alma Fulford.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the Memorial Foundation or the charity of your choice. Keith and Keith Funeral home of Yakima has been trusted to care for her arrangements. To share a memory of Eleanore, please visit www.keithandkeith.com