Eloise R. Engel

Eloise Ruth Engel, (nee Bull), 89, passed away on November 6, 2017.  She was preceded in death by her husband of 61 years, the Honorable Albert J. Engel, and siblings Robert Bull (Pearl), George Bull (Janet), Jane Gallagher (Norbert), Audrey DeYoung (Lyle) and James Bull (Mary). She is survived by her children A. Joseph “Joe” Engel, III (Doreen), Kate Engel, James R. Engel (Kwan), and Mary Pineda (Andy).  She was graced with one granddaughter - Lika (Jim and Kwan), and five grandsons – Ethan (wife, Kelly), Colin and Griffin (Joe and Doreen) and Patrick and James (Mary and Andy).

Eloise was born in Muskegon, MI, on August 8, 1928, graduated first in her class from St. Joseph High School and then completed her nursing degree at Mercy School of Nursing in Grand Rapids.  After graduation, she headed for the post-war West Coast, eventually finding employment in West Los Angeles.  Her Midwestern roots, however, drew her back and ultimately led her to a young lawyer and son of a U.S. congressman who swept her off her feet after dumping her into Muskegon Lake while sailing the “Grunion”, on their first date.

Marriage in 1952 was followed by four children over the next seven years, a home she built with Al nestled in the back dunes of Lake Michigan, and eventually a move to Grand Rapids when her husband became a Federal Judge in 1971. 

Eloise was a bright, nurturing, loving, curious, Midwesterner, who could cook, debate, read, travel, host, and cast a fly line with the best of them.   Her life-long passion for volunteering inspired her help with founding and fund raising for the Cascade Library beginning in 1971, and later included national recognition for her Red Cross work in Cincinnati. Whether snorkeling a coastal reef in the Caymans, hooking a trout in a Colorado mountain stream, exploring Europe and Asia, snooping Michigan back roads, playing a Bridge hand with frightening expertise, parrying a bad pun, or offering a smile, guidance and comfort to friends, children, and grandchildren – Eloise’s core values of faith, family, and kindness were always a part of her journey and are, indeed, her greatest legacy.  She will be incredibly missed and always remembered by a grateful family. 

A Mass of Resurrection will be held 11am on Saturday, November 11, 2017, at St. Robert of Newminster Church, Ada, MI. Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to The Land Conservancy of West Michigan or the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

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