Obituary of Catherine Eckhardt

Catherine Eckhardt died Wednesday, February 13, 2013, at the Colonial Manor Care Center in Amana, peacefully from dementia. Private family services for Catherine Eckhardt, 89, will be held at Oakland Cemetery in Iowa City, Iowa, later this spring. She was born Feb.1, 1924, in Peabody, Mass., the youngest of three daughters, to Peter and Helen (Pasternak) Shevchuk, Ukrainian immigrants. After graduating from Mary Brooks School in Boston, she worked as a blood bank technician at Boston City Hospital. Catherine was married to Richard D. Eckhardt, M.D., in Salem, Mass., on Aug. 4, 1946, and she became a homemaker. Leaving New England for the first time, she moved to Iowa City, Iowa, in 1949, where she lived for most of the rest of her life except for two years in Virginia while her husband was in military service (1953-55) and one year in the Chicago area in 1957-58. In 1971, Catherine and her husband purchased an old loggers' cabin on Lake Thompson in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. They spent from May 1 until Nov. 1 each year at the cabin, as well as the month of February. They would haul their supplies in on a sled in the winter and enjoyed cross-country skiing. In the summer, she would be seen collecting cans and trash on walks, turning the cans in for "mad money." Catherine loved to host elaborate parties in her home; was an avid seamstress; a good tennis player; enjoyed taking French and Russian classes; and loved classical music. She was a fashion plate and had an extensive collection of shoes and hats. She enjoyed traveling and taking cruises with her husband. She liked to collect rocks and always brought them back from travels, many times weighing down the trunk of the car with her treasures. She was likely to have "lucky stones" in her pockets and to rub them in her hand while she took long walks. She loved nature and all animals and could imitate bird songs and get them to sing back to her. She said she would get two black labs when her husband died, and he was glad he was worth at least two dogs. She did not get her two dogs, but was glad to have visits by the dogs of members of her family. She was known for her loud and distinct whistle, which involved a special folding of fingers into her mouth to produce a sound that could be heard throughout the neighborhood. She was an exceptionally beautiful woman and even in her last years, when she could no longer speak, her facial expressions and beautiful smile communicated what she couldn't say in words. She was a member of Chapter KZ of PEO, the University Women's Club, the University French Group, and was active in Brownies, Girl Scouts, and the PTA while her four daughters were in school. She was a member of the Congregational United Church of Christ in Iowa City. Survivors include three daughters: Dale Eva Eckhardt of Casper, Wyo., Catherine Bartholow and her husband, Steven, of Elmhurst, Ill., Jane Eckhardt McMullen and her husband, Ronald, of Iowa City, Iowa; six grandchildren: Daria Eliuk (Dallas), Rachel Bartholow, Damien Eckhardt-Jacobi, Bradley Bartholow (Jenny), Owen McMullen, and Wyatt McMullen; three great-grandsons: twins Alan and Evan Brummel, and Xander Eliuk; one great-granddaughter, Arrington Bartholow, to be born this month; and a niece and four nephews as well as great-nieces on the east coast and four "Mississippi Eckhardt" nieces and nephews and their families. She was preceded in death by her husband of almost 65 years, Richard, on July 27, 2011; her youngest daughter, Barbara, on May 18, 1996; and sisters, Alice Pearse, in Oct. 2007, and Doris Yaskell in Feb. 2012. Her daughters would like to thank the staff of Colonial Manor of Amana for their excellent care of both their parents since Oct. 2008, and to Essence of Life Hospice. The family would appreciate honoring Catherine by donations to Alzheimer's research. Because her daughter died of breast cancer, gifts to Susan G. Komen for the Cure or other donations in support of breast cancer research would also be appreciated. Online condolences may be sent for her family through the web @ www.gayandciha.com