Eileen Geyer

Eileen D. Geyer peacefully passed from this life on July 9, 2020, surrounded by family, after a brief illness. She was the beloved wife of the late Richard E. Geyer, and loving mother to Mary G. McLaughlin and her husband Brendan of Milton, MA, Anne T. Geyer of Chicago, IL, Ellen Salcedo and her late husband Chris of Wilmington, DE, and Laura B. Geyer, PhD of Panama City, Panama. Proud grandmother of Conor and Maura McLaughlin, and doting aunt to her nieces and nephews. Daughter of the late William and Katherine (nee Dougherty) Devine. She was the sister of Thomas W. Devine and his wife Anne Marie, and sister-in-law to Claire, Stephen, and the late George E. Geyer, Jr. She cherished her many friendships, especially lifelong friends from Villa Maria Academy and Immaculata College, and her late cousin Kathleen Dougherty Niles.

Eileen’s story began in Yeadon, PA on April 9, 1936. Her father died when Eileen was only two after a long illness. Her mother went back to work and they moved to West Philadelphia on Cecil Street. A few years later, Eileen went to boarding school.  She attended Villa Maria Academy for eight years as a boarder, and then commuted for another four through high school. Although she missed her mother and brother, she made many happy memories like movies on the weekends, trips to the Tip Top in Malvern, and sledding on the slope down the hill. She graduated in 1954 as editor of the newspaper and yearbook.

She earned her BA degree at Immaculata College in Elementary Education and English in 1958. She met her husband Dick soon after. As she and Dick raised their family, they moved around the country from Pennsylvania to New Jersey, Connecticut, and Ohio and in the 1970s moved back to Pennsylvania, where she stayed for 44 years. An avid volunteer, you could count on Eileen to head a committee or even take over a Girl Scout troop when asked.

A longtime educator, Eileen started her career in the Philadelphia public school system. After raising four daughters, she returned to teaching, first in the Philadelphia Public Schools and then at Saint Alice School in Upper Darby for over 20 years, most of them as a 4th grade teacher. She was an active parishioner and often taught religious education at many of the parishes she lived in.

Eileen was a lifelong learner who enjoyed watching Jeopardy although she never lived her dream of being a contestant. She loved to read and always had paper and pen ready to make a note and investigate further. Her love for God’s earth was reflected in both her enjoyment of gardening as well as her strong interest in the environment and her support of many environmental organizations. What her family remembers most of all was the pleasure she had in playing the piano, singing at any opportunity, and passing that love of music along to her daughters.

Visitation will be held at The Donohue Funeral Home, 8401 West Chester Pike, Upper Darby, PA 19082, 610-449-0300, on Wednesday morning, July 15th, 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Laurence Church, 8245 West Chester Pike, Upper Darby, PA at 12:30 PM. Interment Calvary Cemetery.

Contributions in Eileen’s memory may be made to Saint Rock Haiti Foundation, 372 Granite Ave, Suite 1, Milton, MA 02186, or the Christian Salcedo Music Scholarship Fund through the Light Up the Queen Foundation, 500 N. Market Street, Wilmington, DE 19801.