December 14, 1941 - February 5, 2014
Viewing Location: 38001 Euclid Avenue, Willoughby, OH 44094
Viewings: 6 to 9 PM Friday, April 11, 2014
We lost Eileen February 5, 2014, at the age of 71. She was married to the late Carl Baranovich for 42 years. She was survived by her beloved children, Jim and Tom (wife, Kimberly Kobylski Baranovich); siblings, Kathleen and Ralph; and cousins, nephews and nieces. Visitation will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, April 11, 2014, at McMahon-Coyne Funeral Home, 38001 Euclid Ave., Willoughby, where memories of Eileen will be shared at 8 p.m. Burial will be private. Eileen was funny, extremely loving and caring, and very very smart. Born in Cleveland, she was the spunky and mischievous middle child of the McElroy family – Kathleen is the older, Ralph the younger. With an Irish father (Ralph) and a Hungarian mother (Mary), our family ate marvelously well and vigorously sang the Irish-American songs of the day. Eileen played the piano for the songfests. She also played piano and organ for our church, St. Peter Evangelical and Reformed. After high school, she worked at Fenn College (now Cleveland State) and was involved in the very early years of computer data processing. She met her husband, Carl there and they soon married. And then came the boys – two exceptionally talented children of whom they were very proud. Jim came first, then Tom. And when Tom married Kimberly Kobylski, Eileen and Carl were delighted that now there was a smart, funny, charming daughter added to the clan. Eileen also treasured her unusually gorgeous and devoted cats. Bozo was the memorable one. Her recent cat companion, the extremely furry Tangerine “Tangie,” is now living with and being cared for by Jim. Life as a family had some special enjoyments. They all enjoyed Tom’s sports skills and Jim’s talents with language and logic. And they all enjoyed going to Las Vegas. Additional memorable trips included those to Disneyland and multiple trips to Disney World (with special friends and family). They also took the train to the Grand Canyon, sleeping in bunks in a sleeping car. They stayed in an old tourist cabin on the edge of the Canyon. When Tom and Jim were younger, Eileen led them on a variety of overnight adventures, where they were joined by the Binstock children, Laura and Jonathan, and the Mann children, Jim, Bethany and Jeff. Trips to warm hotel pools in the middle of Cleveland winters are memorable. And the weekend at Punderson cottages was legendary. Eileen had a complicated life and she remained cheerful through it all. But the last few years were difficult. She lost her two best friends, Carl and Mother McElroy, within the same month in 2011. Mom and Carl began to fail simultaneously in 2009. Eileen’s support helped Mom to stay in the family home until she was 97, while Eileen cared for Carl at home as he rapidly declined. So, Eileen was caretaker for both at the same time, each eventually in different nursing homes. It was exhausting and heartbreaking for her and she became weary. We are immensely thankful for her loving care of both at the expense of her own health. And we thank her for being a diligent, attentive and entertaining Mom. We trust Eileen is now at peace. We miss her.
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