Eileen May Eckford

Eckford, Eileen May

Loved mother to Alison and Elisa. Loved grandmother to Niamh, Rosie, Orla and Owen.

Special thanks to the staff at Cashmere Heights who cared for Eileen in her final months.  A memorial service for Eileen will be held on 12.30pm Tuesday 10 March at Ngaio Union Church.

Messages to the family may be left on Eillen’s tribute page https://lychgate.co.nz/funeral-notice/eckford-73761/ or posted to 306 Willis Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011

Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to Wellington SPCA.

Tributes

Pam Bowen

God Bless you my dearly loved friend. Our friendship lasted 69 years . My family remember you and your visits to stay with us down the years.
I will miss you. Rest in Peace, dear, dear friend.

John O’Meara

Sending my sincere condolences to Elisa and family.
Thinking of you all and wishing you comfort during this difficult time.

Love from the O’Meara family in Australia

Beckie Alexander

Dear Alison, Elisa and families,

My condolences on the passing of your dear Mum and grandma.

Eileen taught so many of us at Northland School in the 1970’s and early 80’s, and I always remember her as strict but an excellent teacher. When she raised her voice, we knew a telling off was coming.

Myself and Elisa spent a lot of time playing on the floor at Huntington Street, closely supervised by Eileen. She certainly didn’t put up with any nonsense from either of us, and quickly managed any squabbles or tears that occurred.

She raised 2 extremely intelligent, talented daughters by herself and was proud of their respective successes. She had strength of character and no doubt this motivated Alison and Elisa to work hard and believe in themselves.

Rest in peace Eileen

Suzy Liew

My husband and family send sincere Condolences to Eileen’s daughters and their families at their sad loss of a special lady.
I first met Eileen when she came over to England on a Teachers exchange program in the mid 1980’s when she taught my children.
Being a teacher myself and Eileens’ easy manner we just seemed to get on very well. My husband and I invited her back to our home on many occasions during her stay in England and spent quality time with her.
After she returned to New Zealand we continued to stay in contact and when she visited England she always stayed with us. We became very good friends over the years and we kept in contact very regularly on What’s app .
She was a lovely lady who loved teaching and my family were very fond of her.
God Bless her and her family.

David and Lynette Lunn

Sending our love and sincere condolences to all of Eileen’s family.
She was a wonderful woman full of fun. She looked out for us over the years and we treasure the memories with her when we visited New Zealand.
Our love and thoughts to all the family at this difficult time.
Lynette and David

Sylvie Thomson

I send my sincere condolences to the family. Mrs Eckford was my favourite teacher. She liked things done the right way and could be quite strict but also warm and had a great sense of humour. I really enjoyed being able to share a joke with her. She took my class for two years running and I am very glad she did.

Hana Bright

Dear Alison and Elisa,
Mrs Eckford (as she was known to me) was my Standard 4 primary school teacher at Northland School in the early 1980s.

It had been an unsettling time for me as a ten-year-old who had recently moved house and schools, and she showed me a kindness that I have appreciated ever since.

My grandma used to pick violets from her garden for me to give to her, which makes me think I must have spoken fondly of her, because I don’t remember doing that for any of my other teachers!

She had beautiful, large, expressive eyes that let you know when you weren’t making the best choices.

I heard about your mother’s passing through a dear friend, Andrea Malcourone. We became friends in her class and are still very close to this day. We had a trip down memory lane talking about your lovely mother and the shenanigans she endured from our class.

I’m sending you lots of love and want you to know that your mum is remembered and that she made a real difference.

Ngā mihiHana Bright

Heather and Stuart Cox

We were so sorry to hear about your Mum and she will always hold a special place in our hearts.
I have many fond memories of Eileen bringing you both over as little girls – two little ones on a long flight like that – quite something – and you were a lively pair! I think you went to Disneyland on the way and had some beautiful toys with you.
Later visiting in New Zealand – she was always an excellent host and we had some wonderful outings – coffee and cakes with Orla springs to mind! You may recall we were there for the rugby World Cup and Stuart put a Welsh flag up in the window – which was not appreciated, although I always felt Eileen had a soft spot for the Welsh team – and we did leave an All Blacks flag on our departure! She loved the rugby and was a fervent supporter of the All Blacks team – definitely not the England team – I did remind her sometimes where she was from!
Our love and best wishes to all the family – we will be thinking of you at this time xxxxx