Eileen had a twin sister, Mildred Veale Horton. Much of her childhood was spent near Fresnillo, Zacatecas, Mexico with her family while her father worked as a mining engineer. She and Mildred attended high school at Our Lady of the Lake girls’ boarding school in San Antonio, TX. They then moved to Rochester, MN to attend nursing school. Eileen and Mildred studied at the Mayo Clinic and graduated from the Koehler School of Nursing. They continued to practice nursing at the Mayo Clinic for several years together, where Eileen met her future husband, Pat Garrett, while serving as his nurse. They married February 16, 1952 in Lubbock, TX and moved to Ohio shortly after. They returned to Lubbock to join Pat’s father in the family business, and she continued her nursing career with a local physician. She later chose to retire from nursing and become a stay at home mother.
Eileen derived great enjoyment in creating a wide variety of art. She particularly excelled in watercolor art pieces. She also loved to play the piano, enjoyed gardening, and was a talented seamstress. She enjoyed participating in social organizations as well as community service organizations. She was a member of Beta Sigma Phi Sorority, the West Texas Watercolor Association, Lubbock Women’s Club, Reveler’s Dance Club, and Terpsichorean Dance Club.
She and her husband were active members of the First United Methodist Church in Lubbock, TX. Eileen loved books and children so she chose to serve as a church librarian for many years. She and her husband enjoyed traveling all over the world with friends, including multiple countries throughout Asia and Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand, and the British Isles.
Eileen is survived by her daughter, Karleen Garrett Boyd and her husband, Jack Boyd; son Paul Garrett and his wife, Christine Garrett all of Lubbock, TX; 4 grandchildren: Becky McDougal Buchanan, Chad McDougal, Madison Garrett Spring, and Alexandra Garrett; 3 great-grandchildren: E.J. Buchanan, Nash McDougal, and Katie McDougal.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her beloved husband, and her twin sister.
A viewing will be held at from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, October 31, 2018 at Resthaven Funeral Home. A Celebration of Eileen’s life will be held at the First United Methodist Church on Thursday, November 1, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. Interment will follow at Resthaven Memorial Park.
Memorials may be made in her memory to either First United Methodist Church Children’s Ministry or Indiana Avenue Baptist Church Children’s Ministry.
