Eileen E. Uecker

Eileen Eve Scheffer Uecker was born September 23, 1931 in Ft. Wayne Indiana, the 5th of 8 children born to Ferdinand and Louise Scheffer. She grew up in Ft. Wayne attending St. Andrew’s Catholic Church and school. Her close-knit family lived just a half a mile from Bud Uecker’s family; they all attended the same church and school. At 19, she decided to move to Florida. Being a good daughter who didn’t want to worry her mother, she told her parents she was only going for a two-week vacation. She left her father a note that she was moving there. That only lasted 5 months before her mother begged her to come home. Still with an adventurous spirit, in her mid 20’s, Eileen made the brash-for-her-time move to San Francisco with some close friends. Eileen lived and worked in San Francisco for a few years, even experiencing an earthquake, before moving back to Ft. Wayne. Shortly after, Bud caught her eye at a party while he was home from college for Thanksgiving. She invited him to a company holiday party and he happily agreed to extend his visit to oblige. Their relationship blossomed from that first date, although they had known each other since childhood. Eileen was always stylish, and adored her older sisters, especially Joan who had been a model briefly. She bought a used white 1957 Thunderbird with burgundy interior and removable hardtop, and she was still driving that car in 1961 when Bud and Eileen were married. They lived in Urbana Illinois while Bud was in a doctoral program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne. In October of 1962, their firstborn son Greg arrived. She sold the T-bird. From there, the Ueckers moved to Winona, Minnesota, where Bud taught. In 1964, George was born. The growing family moved to Laurel Maryland when Bud took a research position with USDA. In 1966, they bought a house in Beltsville Maryland within walking distance of USDA, and St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and school. In 1966 Ben was born. And finally in 1968, a beautiful baby girl, Monica. They finally got it right, so they quit after that. Bud and Eileen were heavily involved in the church and school for many years. Eileen developed lifelong friendships with many folks including Mary Ann Frymark, Linda Murrow and Mildred Johnson. She volunteered regularly in the PTA, in the school lunchroom, and with the Christmas bazaar which provided a useful outlet for her creativity. She and her friends spent countless hours making food and crafts to raise money for the church. We still have pipe cleaner and felt elves on our Christmas trees. The 1970’s were filled with raising kids. Summer trips back to Ft. Wayne and the lakes of northeast Indiana to see both the Scheffers and the Ueckers were glorious. The summer of 1976 included a month-long drive to California, begging accommodations for 6 off old friends along the way and camping in between. Raising 4 children wasn’t challenging enough so Eileen went back to college earning a BA in Psychology, with honors, from Bowie State in 1980. Since the kids were old enough to fend for themselves at this point, she decided to go back to work. She took a job at Singer-Link Simulation Systems in Silver Spring, quickly rising to executive assistant to the division VP. Growing up during the Depression and WWII instilled a deep thriftiness in her. Always practical, she ensured we all had what we needed while preparing for the future. She began investing to avoid relying only on social security and pensions. She introduced her children to the stock market. In 1988-1990, their first grandchildren Matt & Jeremy were born, and they couldn’t have been prouder. Eileen retired from Singer-Link at 63 when Bud got sick. The first 6 months of her retirement was spent nursing him until his death in 1995. That was a blow that nobody saw coming. Rather than stay alone in Beltsville, she once again went to the coast moving to Ocean View Delaware, not far from where her good friend Linda Murrow had relocated. She joined St. Anne’s Parish in Bethany Beach, and enjoyed making new friends and becoming involved in the big summer bazaar. In 2000, the floodgates opened and 5 more grandchildren quickly appeared. Kai, Kate, Dylan & Brooke, and August. The next 20 years of Eileen’s life were filled with the joys of watching her grandchildren grow, and begin to have children of their own. She delighted in her two great-grandchildren, Logan and Claire. Eileen was happiest in the summers during Zeke Week when EVERYBODY would come down to the beach. She joined a quilting guild and was very proud of her contribution to the Quilts of Valor program to benefit veterans. She loved games of all sorts including bridge, poker, dominoes, Scrabble, and Rummikub. As she got older and her memory and balance began to fail, she moved to Fairhaven where she continued to make new friends and become involved in the local scene. For years she played poker there, the only woman amongst a group of men. Ladies would stop her in the hallways and say, “I heard you took all their money again!” She outlived almost everyone of her generation, including her husband, Bud, and 5 siblings. She leaves behind 2 brothers, Tom and Paul, as well as her 4 children, 7 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. She lived a long, clean life, was loved by all, and will be sorely missed. The family will receive friends on Friday, February 27, 2026, from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM at Haight Funeral Home & Chapel, 6416 Sykesville Road, Sykesville. A Funeral Mass will follow on Friday, February 27, 2026, at 1 PM at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 915 Liberty Road, Sykesville. Interment private. Online condolences may be offered at www.haightfuneralhome.com

Eileen E. Uecker

September 23, 1931 - February 15, 2026