Eileen Mary Rinaldi

September 7, 2020

Eileen, 85, passed away at home, in her sleep and at peace, September 7, 2020. Born on August 6, 1935, she led a life filled with and defined by family. She now joins her husband of 54 years, Ralph, 7 years to the week after he died, in the house he built, and in the room they shared. They are together again. Eileen was our gift as much as our mother, and we were blessed to have her guide us in the highest and hardest of times, as we tried to hold her hand and ease her heart through this last and hardest season of her life. Married to a wonderful cook, but one who could never match her meatballs and never tried (they were greatest on earth), she rolled her eyes at any time and in front of everybody; believed no one threw a better party, and always wanted to “be with the young people” at any celebration; she sang a birthday song no one had ever heard before and never explained where it came from; she loved her trips, and her friends at the bank, her “CC and Ginger” and her lava cake for dessert after a meal out. She knew how to laugh, and when to cry. She told us what she thought, when we weren’t always ready to hear it; and loved us through our mistakes, when we didn’t know we were making them. She raised us by always being there, tried to give us strength, and showed us how to endure. She is survived by: her devoted son Robert; her loving daughter Doretta; her youngest son Tom and his wife Dianne; by her dear sister Loretta and her husband Manny; by her caring and wonderful grandchildren Bobby, Patrick, Jack and Tessa; also by her nephews and nieces who join us in sharing her memory, and in mourning her passing. Visitation will be at the Barrett Funeral Home, 148 Dean Drive Tenafly, NJ on Thursday 3-7 PM. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated Friday, 10 AM, at St. Therese R.C. Church, in Cresskill, NJ. Interment immediately after, at Madonna Cemetery, in Ft. Lee. In lieu of flowers, please make any memorial donations online to: Alzheimer’s Association, tribute gifts in honor of Eileen Rinaldi. Or by mail: Alzheimer’s Association Home Office 225 N. Michigan Ave., Fl. 17, Chicago, IL 60601