Eleanor Rose Eisner
May 12, 1937-Oct. 26, 2023
Palo Alto, California
Eleanor Rose Eisner (“Ellie”) died peacefully in her apartment at the Vi of Palo Alto at age 86 on October 26th, 2023, after a long illness. She was surrounded by her children in her last hours.
Ellie was born in Chicago, Illinois on May 12th, 1937 to Isidore “Izzy” Rose and Iva Sachs. Ellie attended South Shore High School and was active in her synagogue youth group, serving as President of her chapter. She met the love of her life, Elliot Eisner, at a Jewish Federation summer camp and the two were married on January 6th, 1957. She and Elliot, along with their two young children, relocated to Palo Alto from Chicago in 1965, when Elliot accepted an offer of an Assistant Professorship at Stanford University. In 1968, they moved into a beautiful house on the Stanford campus which Ellie and Elliot had helped design. Ellie remained in her beloved house until 2014, then moving into the Vi after Elliot’s death the preceding year.
Ellie was a caretaker at heart, whether it be family, friends or those less fortunate. She served as President of the the Palo Alto Unified School District Human Relations Committee and President of the Lucille M. Nixon Elementary School PTA in the 1970’s, and then went to work for the City of Sunnyvale’s NOVA Private Industry Council under a Federal Job Training Partnership Act grant. At NOVA, Ellie counseled newly unemployed workers and provided retraining services for reentry into the workforce.
Ellie made friends easily - she was well liked and people gravitated to her warmth, smile and positivity. She had an extraordinary ability to listen and to express concern and empathy with those in her presence. She was generous, thoughtful, wise, and strong. Her “Lunch Bunch,” friends with whom she met weekly for meals and conversation, was special to her as was her book club. And perhaps above all, Ellie took great pride in being a mother and grandmother. Not only did she choose “GRAMZEY” as her vanity license plate, but containers of borscht or mushroom barley soup were often left at her children’s doorstep.
Her multitude of interests included Ikebana flower arranging, ceramics, photography, politics, cooking and gardening. She loved nature and the outdoors, with Yosemite and Point Lobos being favorite spots, and fulfilled a lifelong dream of experiencing an African safari. Living in foreign countries and savoring new cultures were shared passions with Elliot; the two enriched their lives by spending sabbatical years in London, Utrecht and Madrid.
Ellie is survived by her son Steve Eisner of Menlo Park, daughter Linda (Eric) Eislund of San Francisco, grandsons Ari Eisner, Seth Eislund and Drew Eislund, and nieces Beth (Coco) Delforge and Maddie (Michael) Davis of Rockport, MA and Buffalo Grove, IL respectively.
The family would like to thank Ellie’s wonderful caretaker, Maggie Santoyo, as well as the Vi of Palo Alto Nursing Staff. Per Ellie’s wishes, there will be no funeral.
Tags: public service
