Eileen Rowland Drehwing, age 88, of Hilton Head Island, SC, passed away on Feb. 3, 2023 in her beloved home on Hilton Head, surrounded by family, after a short illness. While we mourn her absence, she is now with the Lord, and reunited with the love of her life, Frank.
Eileen was a woman of diverse interests and many talents (formerly dubbed “Superwoman” by her husband Frank,) and had an unsurpassed memory for people, events and details. She was a fiercely loyal friend to many, and somehow managed to keep up with her family and friends’ lives and communicated continually with them.
Born on Oct. 13, 1935, to Martin and Ann Rowland in the Bronx, N.Y., Eileen was raised in NYC. She became a passionate New York Yankees fan and routinely came home from school to listen to ballgames on the radio with her father. Eileen spoke fondly of her upbringing, including school at St. Helena’s, playing stoopball, helping her mother and father, escapades with her younger brother Marty, and her memories of her relatives including Aunt Agnes and Aunt Margaret, and renters they had that inevitably became close family friends. Her years in NYC gave her many of her distinctive qualities: an appreciation for art and culture, a keen sense of style, an uncanny ability for trendspotting and an insatiable curiosity about people and the world.
Eileen met her future husband Frank in a church group, but they had known of each other in junior high. They were married on June 14, 1958 (Flag Day) and enjoyed a wonderful 64 years of marriage together. Their remarkable relationship spanned 70-plus years.
After attending secretarial school, Eileen held a position as a medical secretary at Bristol Myers, and when she moved with Frank to Central New York, she was able to transfer to their Syracuse division. Eileen proudly worked with doctors on the latest pharmaceutical developments (plus gained the ability to read doctors’ handwriting!)
Although Eileen stayed home to raise their one daughter, Nancy, she was heavily involved with personal interests and the community. She joined the League of Women Voters and supported the approval and ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. Eileen had a broad circle of friends from golf and bridge groups, was a CCD teacher with St James Catholic Church, an Everson Museum docent, a Girl Scout Leader, and still managed to keep up with all the sports teams, primarily major league baseball, pro golf and college basketball. Eileen was still participating in (and sometimes winning) NCAA tournament sports pools in the 2010s.
After 44 years in Cazenovia, Eileen and Frank retired to Hilton Head Island in 2002. Eileen became a licensed real estate agent and sold properties on the island with the same enthusiasm she had in other areas of her life. Additional friends were made through her work, her church, her cooking group and book club.
Eileen will be sorely missed by her family and friends. She was well-read, well-dressed, and was always up for a good conversation. She loved travel, hearing about everyone else’s journeys and was the best gift giver. Moreover, she had a big heart and could (and did) talk to anyone.
Eileen was predeceased by her husband Frank, her brother Martin (Marty) and his wife Veronica (Ronnie), her mother Ann and father Martin. She is survived by her cherished daughter Nancy (Drehwing Edwards) Cronin and husband John, beloved granddaughter Kylie Edwards, her step-grandchildren Jessica, Erin and Seth, and nieces and nephews on both the Drehwing side (Karen, Kristine, Karl, Kyle, Michael, Kurt, Kristopher and Douglas) and Rowland side (Tara, Kevin, Christine and Christopher) of the family.
A funeral mass will be held at St. Francis by the Sea on Hilton Head Island on Monday, April 8, at 10 a.m., with a reception to follow. An online site for sharing of photos and memories of Eileen can be found at memorialsource.com/memorial/eileen-drehwing
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made to The League of Women Voters (lwv.org.)
