Eileen Joan Cahill died at sunset on Sunday, July 15, 2018, having recently reached 88 years of age. Born on June 30, 1930, Eileen cherished her idyllic childhood on in the Elmhurst section of Smith Hill, where Ice Man really did cometh; as did the grocery wagon, the Great Depression, and the Hurricane of ‘38. But not the formidable Hitler, thanks to strictly observed blackouts.
Dad had a steady job, and like many others, they helped out with those down on their luck during those years. Eileen attended St. Pius grammar, and St. Patrick’s High. Following graduation, she was hired at Narragansett Electric.
She enjoyed being a single professional for 7 years, until she accepted a ride home from the company Christmas party with a polite young man who won her over. Eileen married Raymond J. Cahill 1955. They would have “three beautiful girls” – Patty, Joanie and Katie.
In 1962 they moved from Spragueville to Calaman Road in Cranston, where they truly did live “happily ever after”. Eileen inherited the Irish wit and way with words. She had a song for every occasion.
Between songs came the stories. She was a huge fan of the natural world and insisted playing kids give right of way for any creature that inhabited her yard: bunny, bug or bird. She knew what saint to tap for what request, but was a special fan of Immaculate Mary.
Eileen returned to Narragansett Electric in 1965 when her kids were in school. She addressed and won parity on behalf of female employees over retirement benefits. She and Ray retired in 1993, and enjoyed winters in a waterfront condo on Siesta Key FL.
Many long-term friends were made and it was a new lease on life. Eileen eventually moved to the Village at Waterman Lake in the years following Ray’s death in 2009, and more recently to Bethany Home in Providence where she passed from old age and Alzheimer’s in peace and comfort. Eileen was preceded in death by parents Edward and Mary (Murphy) Lester of Providence and Castletownberehaven Ireland, brother Raymond (Peggy) Lester, sister Maureen (Richard) Hayden, husband Raymond J. Cahill, daughter Patricia (Cahill) Jackson, and many relatives and friends.
She leaves children Joan Marie Eileen Cahill (Bob Cita) of Juneau, AK and Kathleen Cahill of Chico, CA; son-in-law Robert Jackson of Cranston; God-Child/cousin Perpetua Lester; grandchildren Chris (Lisa) and Caitlin Jackson; Jami and Kayla Cahill-Barton and Ray Cahill III; in-laws Bob and Ellie Cahill, nieces, nephews and great-grandchildren. Eileen always proclaimed RI the most beautiful state – no – most beautiful place of all. She expanded that perspective in her final years, telling every person she encountered, with genuine awe, “You are beautiful”.
Her own lovely face is now smiling down from heaven, that is, if the Blessed Virgin, Mother Nature, God, Jesus and all the saints have anything to say about the matter. Funeral from the NARDOLILLO FUNERAL HOME & Crematory, 1278 Park Avenue, Cranston, on Saturday at 9:00 a.m. followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 a.m. in St. George Maronite Church, 1439 Cranston Street, Cranston. Burial will be in St. Ann Cemetery, Cranston.
VISITING HOURS Friday 4-8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to, Southside Community Land Trust, 109 Somerset Street, Providence, RI 02907.
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