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September 14, 2013
Services
Friends may visit with the family from 4 – 8 PM on Wednesday, September 18, 2013 at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
A Funeral Service will take place on Thursday, September 19, 2013, 11:00 AM at the funeral home followed by entombment at Laurel Grove Cemetery in Totowa.
Eleanore Kieselat, age 79 of Pompton Plains died peacefully at her home as her children and grandchildren lovingly stood by her, on Saturday, September 14, 2013, following an aggressive bout with cancer.
Eleanore was born and raised in Bloomfield, the fourth of Stephen and Anna Bischoff’s seven children. She attended Bloomfield High School but stopped one year short of graduation because conventional wisdom of that time dictated that it was more important that she go to work. Eleanore’s first job was waitressing at the local diner. She quickly moved on to a position with Bell Telephone as an operator. If you called, she would cheerfully greet you with “Operator, what number please.” She eventually ended up working for Westinghouse Electric in their light-bulb filament producing department. Working conditions were hellaciously hot and since she wasn’t provided a locker or refrigerator to put her lunch in, Eleanore would just leave her sandwich on one of the machines. By lunch time, her cheese sandwich was a grilled-cheese sandwich! She worked there for over ten years and even received her ten-year pin.
One day when Eleanore was just 19 years old, she was with her sister Evelyn at the Postal Diner in Bloomfield. While there, a sweet looking powder-blue Cadillac convertible drove past and, to Eleanore’s delight, the guy behind the wheel waived right at them!. Eleanore was too shy to waive back so she made her sister waive instead. That handsome man behind the wheel was 25-year old Rudy Kieselat and he took that waive-back as an invitation to pull into the diner and introduce himself. Eleanore dated Rudy for five years, got engaged and, five years later, on December 14, 1963, they married at Wesminster Church in Bloomfield. Following a beautiful honeymoon in Florida, the newlyweds settled into a garden apartment in Caldwell. A year later, they moved to 98 Curtis Street, Bloomfield, into a two-family home on the second floor above Eleanore’s parents. Rudy went off to work each day at his car dealership – Rudy’s Motors on Route 46 in Little Ferry – while Eleanore continued in her position with Westinghouse Electric. She remained there until 1965 when she and Rudy welcomed their firstborn, little Rudy. A year later little Rudy was joined by a sister Darlene and in 1970, the whole family welcomed another boy which they named Randy. That same summer, the Kieselats moved out of the Curtis Street house into a new home in Pompton Plains where Eleanore remained for the past forty-three years.
Eleanore loved her home and she loved hosting those big, “both-sides-of-the-family” pool parties. Everyone attended because they all looked forward to the great spread of foods Eleanore was sure to provide. It was said that Eleanore made the kind of potato salad that even people who hate potato salad couldn’t help but love! She was also greatly admired for her out-of-this-world stuffing and macaroni salad. Sometimes she got tired of the messy kitchen that comes with cooking and baking. When those times came she’d go to some of her favorite eateries including Don Peppe, the Monarch Diner, Red Lobster, Outback Steakhouse or Friendly’s. Eleanore also loved to throw birthday parties for her children and grandchildren complete with lots of games, prizes and yummy treats only a dentist could love.
If she wasn’t hosting family and friends at home, Eleanore found other ways to keep entertained. In the 1970’s she started attending ceramic classes. During that phase of life, her family became the lucky recipients of many of her creations including Tom Sawyer, Becky and Huckleberry Finn figurines, (one was even made into a lamp!), cats, Christmas trees, guns, pumpkins, assorted wall plaques, a big tiger, cheerleader figurines, little girl dolls, ash trays, numerous vases, frogs, and dogs. She was so into ceramic crafting, that she seriously thought about getting the equipment and going into her own business but she decided not to because she had made everything there was a possible mold for.
In the earlier years Eleanore enjoyed playing bingo. This eventually led to playing the lottery…… daily! She and Rudy loved buying lottery tickets, especially for the Pick 4, 5, 6 and Mega Millions and Powerball lottery. Once Eleanore won three times in a row and two of those times were in the span of one week with total winnings for that week around eighteen-thousand dollars! She and Rudy also loved to gamble and together en-route to Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City, they took enough trips down the Garden State Parkway to cause that road to need to be repaved a few times over. Most recently, she and Rudy enjoyed going to Mount Airy Casino in Mt. Pocono, PA. Rudy passed away in 2012 but Eleanore kept going and won the jackpot as recently as one month ago on “Fire Sevens”, her lucky machine.
In 2001, Eleanore returned to the workforce, this time to her daughter Darlene’s beauty salon, called COLORFORMS Hair Salon, in Pompton Plains. Her job was to be the beauty shops receptionist but for Eleanore, it wasn’t a job – it was just lots of fun. She loved it and clients loved her too! If Eleanore was out to lunch and wasn’t there to answer the phone, Darlene would answer. Lots of times the caller would just tell Darlene that they would call back when Eleanore got back from lunch.
Eleanore is going to be remembered for a lot of wonderful things. She was a top-notch host! If her kids or grandkids stopped by, she always offered food and wouldn’t take no for an answer. When asked how to describe their mom, her children fired off words or phrases like, “just sweet as pudding pie, giving, caring, happy-go-lucky, even-keeled, adoring of her grandchildren, and a woman with a great attitude who never gave up. A twenty-year survivor of cancer, when asked how she was doing, Eleanore would raise her arms like a boxing champion and exuberantly exclaim “I’m doin good!” Even with this latest bout with cancer, she was still working at COLORFORMS Hair Salon as recently as two weeks ago. She will be missed!
Surviving to mourn her loss but celebrate her life is her son Rudy and wife Sue of Dingmans Ferry, PA, her daughter Darlene Donnelly and husband Patrick of Pequannock Township, her son Randy and wife Angela of Pequannock Township, her five grandchildren: Kyle, Corinne, Rachel, Vanessa and Billy; her two sisters: Evelyn Skupienski of Lake Parsippany and Dorothy “Dot” Bamford of Lake Hiawatha. She was predeceased by her beloved husband Rudolph “Rudy” in October of 2012 as well as her sister Marion Coffee and three brothers: Stephen, Edward and George Bischoff.
Those planning an expression of sympathy in Eleanore’s name are asked to consider City of Hope, 1500 East Duarte Road, Duarte, California, 91010, or online at www.cityofhope.org/giving. A gift to City of Hope will help to win the fight against cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family from 4 – 8 PM on Wednesday, September 18, 2013 at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
A Funeral Service will take place on Thursday, September 19, 2013, 11:00 AM at the funeral home followed by entombment at Laurel Grove Cemetery in Totowa.
September 14, 2013
Services
Friends may visit with the family from 4 – 8 PM on Wednesday, September 18, 2013 at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
A Funeral Service will take place on Thursday, September 19, 2013, 11:00 AM at the funeral home followed by entombment at Laurel Grove Cemetery in Totowa.
Eleanore Kieselat, age 79 of Pompton Plains died peacefully at her home as her children and grandchildren lovingly stood by her, on Saturday, September 14, 2013, following an aggressive bout with cancer.
Eleanore was born and raised in Bloomfield, the fourth of Stephen and Anna Bischoff’s seven children. She attended Bloomfield High School but stopped one year short of graduation because conventional wisdom of that time dictated that it was more important that she go to work. Eleanore’s first job was waitressing at the local diner. She quickly moved on to a position with Bell Telephone as an operator. If you called, she would cheerfully greet you with “Operator, what number please.” She eventually ended up working for Westinghouse Electric in their light-bulb filament producing department. Working conditions were hellaciously hot and since she wasn’t provided a locker or refrigerator to put her lunch in, Eleanore would just leave her sandwich on one of the machines. By lunch time, her cheese sandwich was a grilled-cheese sandwich! She worked there for over ten years and even received her ten-year pin.
One day when Eleanore was just 19 years old, she was with her sister Evelyn at the Postal Diner in Bloomfield. While there, a sweet looking powder-blue Cadillac convertible drove past and, to Eleanore’s delight, the guy behind the wheel waived right at them!. Eleanore was too shy to waive back so she made her sister waive instead. That handsome man behind the wheel was 25-year old Rudy Kieselat and he took that waive-back as an invitation to pull into the diner and introduce himself. Eleanore dated Rudy for five years, got engaged and, five years later, on December 14, 1963, they married at Wesminster Church in Bloomfield. Following a beautiful honeymoon in Florida, the newlyweds settled into a garden apartment in Caldwell. A year later, they moved to 98 Curtis Street, Bloomfield, into a two-family home on the second floor above Eleanore’s parents. Rudy went off to work each day at his car dealership – Rudy’s Motors on Route 46 in Little Ferry – while Eleanore continued in her position with Westinghouse Electric. She remained there until 1965 when she and Rudy welcomed their firstborn, little Rudy. A year later little Rudy was joined by a sister Darlene and in 1970, the whole family welcomed another boy which they named Randy. That same summer, the Kieselats moved out of the Curtis Street house into a new home in Pompton Plains where Eleanore remained for the past forty-three years.
Eleanore loved her home and she loved hosting those big, “both-sides-of-the-family” pool parties. Everyone attended because they all looked forward to the great spread of foods Eleanore was sure to provide. It was said that Eleanore made the kind of potato salad that even people who hate potato salad couldn’t help but love! She was also greatly admired for her out-of-this-world stuffing and macaroni salad. Sometimes she got tired of the messy kitchen that comes with cooking and baking. When those times came she’d go to some of her favorite eateries including Don Peppe, the Monarch Diner, Red Lobster, Outback Steakhouse or Friendly’s. Eleanore also loved to throw birthday parties for her children and grandchildren complete with lots of games, prizes and yummy treats only a dentist could love.
If she wasn’t hosting family and friends at home, Eleanore found other ways to keep entertained. In the 1970’s she started attending ceramic classes. During that phase of life, her family became the lucky recipients of many of her creations including Tom Sawyer, Becky and Huckleberry Finn figurines, (one was even made into a lamp!), cats, Christmas trees, guns, pumpkins, assorted wall plaques, a big tiger, cheerleader figurines, little girl dolls, ash trays, numerous vases, frogs, and dogs. She was so into ceramic crafting, that she seriously thought about getting the equipment and going into her own business but she decided not to because she had made everything there was a possible mold for.
In the earlier years Eleanore enjoyed playing bingo. This eventually led to playing the lottery…… daily! She and Rudy loved buying lottery tickets, especially for the Pick 4, 5, 6 and Mega Millions and Powerball lottery. Once Eleanore won three times in a row and two of those times were in the span of one week with total winnings for that week around eighteen-thousand dollars! She and Rudy also loved to gamble and together en-route to Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City, they took enough trips down the Garden State Parkway to cause that road to need to be repaved a few times over. Most recently, she and Rudy enjoyed going to Mount Airy Casino in Mt. Pocono, PA. Rudy passed away in 2012 but Eleanore kept going and won the jackpot as recently as one month ago on “Fire Sevens”, her lucky machine.
In 2001, Eleanore returned to the workforce, this time to her daughter Darlene’s beauty salon, called COLORFORMS Hair Salon, in Pompton Plains. Her job was to be the beauty shops receptionist but for Eleanore, it wasn’t a job – it was just lots of fun. She loved it and clients loved her too! If Eleanore was out to lunch and wasn’t there to answer the phone, Darlene would answer. Lots of times the caller would just tell Darlene that they would call back when Eleanore got back from lunch.
Eleanore is going to be remembered for a lot of wonderful things. She was a top-notch host! If her kids or grandkids stopped by, she always offered food and wouldn’t take no for an answer. When asked how to describe their mom, her children fired off words or phrases like, “just sweet as pudding pie, giving, caring, happy-go-lucky, even-keeled, adoring of her grandchildren, and a woman with a great attitude who never gave up. A twenty-year survivor of cancer, when asked how she was doing, Eleanore would raise her arms like a boxing champion and exuberantly exclaim “I’m doin good!” Even with this latest bout with cancer, she was still working at COLORFORMS Hair Salon as recently as two weeks ago. She will be missed!
Surviving to mourn her loss but celebrate her life is her son Rudy and wife Sue of Dingmans Ferry, PA, her daughter Darlene Donnelly and husband Patrick of Pequannock Township, her son Randy and wife Angela of Pequannock Township, her five grandchildren: Kyle, Corinne, Rachel, Vanessa and Billy; her two sisters: Evelyn Skupienski of Lake Parsippany and Dorothy “Dot” Bamford of Lake Hiawatha. She was predeceased by her beloved husband Rudolph “Rudy” in October of 2012 as well as her sister Marion Coffee and three brothers: Stephen, Edward and George Bischoff.
Those planning an expression of sympathy in Eleanore’s name are asked to consider City of Hope, 1500 East Duarte Road, Duarte, California, 91010, or online at www.cityofhope.org/giving. A gift to City of Hope will help to win the fight against cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases.
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