M. Meadors

Inverness, Illinois
Eileen M. Meadors, a long time resident of Inverness, Illinois, passed away on Christmas Day, December 25, 2007, at Trinity Pathway Hospice, Bettendorf, Iowa, at the age of 92 of complications following a stroke. A resident of Inverness since 1953, she and her husband, Col. Howard C. Meadors, were actively involved in the early days of Inverness. They built their house in Inverness along the golf course in an area that had previously been a farm pasture.
The former Eileen May Baker was born in Chicago on May 19, 1915, the daughter of Minnie Wilhelmina (Busch) and Walter Edward Smith Baker. Her father was a traffic manager for over 30 years for the Morton Salt Company. Eileen lived in many small towns in Illinois, Missouri and Iowa before returning to Chicago at the age of 7. The Baker family was one of the original families to settle in Garden Homes, worker?s housing on Chicago?s south side funded by Chicago area philanthropists and designed by historic architect Charles Sumner Frost. All home owners were expected to grow food in their garden and her father had a large garden to do just that. During her high school years at Calumet High School, she met her future husband Howard of Mazon, Illinois. Both attended the University of Illinois, and were married in 1935. After Mr. Meadors obtained his law degree from John Marshall Law School in the late 1930s, Mr. Meadors was called into the service. He was a member of the Fifth Army headquartered in Chicago and rose to the rank of Colonel during World War Two.
Following the war, Col. Howard Meadors became a founding partner of Hewitt Associates, Lincolnshire, IL, an international human resources consulting firm. Following the move of Hewitt Associates from Chicago to Libertyville, Eileen and Howard moved to Inverness in 1953 where they raised their four children. Howard was an early village president of Inverness. Eileen was actively involved in Elementary School District #15 where Howard was a board member for 18 years as well as the First United Methodist Church of Palatine of which she was a member for over 50 years. In the mid 1960s Eileen returned to work as an accountant at the University of Illinois Chicago. In 1969, Eileen, who had left college after completing three years of schooling in order to get married, stopped working as an accountant in order to return fulltime to school to finish her final year. She received a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois Chicago in 1970 at the age of 55.
After Howard?s death in 1976, Eileen maintained their home in Inverness and traveled extensively to Europe, Russia, Africa, the Holy Lands and the Far East. In 2005 she celebrated her 90th birthday by traveling to Washington DC to visit the recently dedicated World War II Memorial. At that time she was also received in the offices of Sen. Barack Obama and Rep. Mark Kirk. The story of that journey was the featured article, ?Journey To Remember? in the Palatine Countryside issue of the Pioneer Press dated September 1, 2005.
Eileen is survived by her four children, Howard of Ocean New Jersey; Gayle of Inverness, Illinois; Linda of Moline, Illinois; and Thomas of Janesville, Wisconsin; and six grandchildren Henry, William, Laura, and Pamela Meadors, and Jennifer and Heather Salisbury. She was preceded in death by her husband Howard and infant son Robert, as well as her parents and her sister, Marguerite Wussow.
Graveside services and interment will be 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, December 29, 2007, at Evergreen Cemetery, Morris, Illinois. A memorial service to celebrate her life will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, January 12, 2008, at the First United Methodist Church, 123 N. Plum Grove Road, Palatine, Illinois. Prior to the service, Eileen's family will greet friends from 10 a.m. until service time. Trimble Funeral and Cremation Center, Moline, is assisting the family.
Memorials may be made to Trinity Pathway Hospice c/o Trinity Health Foundation, 5510 Utica Ridge Rd. Ste. 200, Davenport, Iowa. 52807, or Good Shepherd Hospital Intensive Care Unit c/o Good Shepherd Hospital Foundation, 450 W Hwy 22, Barrington, IL 60010.
Eileen?s family invites friends to sign her guestbook, light a candle in her memory, and view a video tribute to her life at www.TrimbleFuneralHomes.com.