Eleanor M. Anderson

Eleanor M. Anderson, 81, of Coal Valley, Illinois, died Monday, February 20, 2006, in her daughter Margo’s home in Moline.

Services are 11 a.m. Friday in the Celebration of Life Chapel at Trimble Funeral and Cremation Center, Coal Valley, with The Reverend Tim Snart and The Reverend Lori Hardesty officiating. Burial is in Coal Valley Cemetery. Visitation is 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the family.

The former Eleanor Mae VanMechelen was born September 12, 1924, in Rock Island, Illinois, the daughter of Arthur Henry and Ethel Selma Hodson VanMechelen. She graduated from Rock Island High School, and married Robert Eugene Anderson on June 15, 1946, in Rock Island. He died November 6, 1978. She was a cook at Oak Glen Home, Coal Valley, for 17 years, retiring in 1986. Prior to her marriage, she was a secretary at Merchant Trucking Co.

She was a member of First Presbyterian Church, Coal Valley, and the Coal Valley American Legion Auxiliary. She loved to crochet, embroider, and cross stitch, and was an avid NASCAR fan, especially Jeff Gordon.

Eleanor is survived by three daughters, Karen J. Anderson of Austin, Texas, Margo S. Anderson of Moline, and Donna R. White and her husband Steven of Alpha; five grandchildren, Lori R. and Christina J. Hardesty, and Angel S., Amy M. and Jeremiah R. C. White; seven great-grandchildren; and two sisters, Louise Sitting of Rock Island and Doris Lindley of Milan. She was preceded in death by her husband, Bob, a granddaughter, Dona Marie White, and a brother, Sonny VanMechelen.

Share a story about Eleanor or light a candle in her memory at www.TrimbleFuneralHomes.com.