The bluest eyes in Kansas closed for the final time on Wednesday, January 7, 2015 as Eileen Crook drew her final breath before she went to be with her Lord and Savior and be reunited with her one true love, John Russell Crook. What sights those blue eyes have seen in the 98 plus years that God shared her with the world before calling her home.
Mary Eileen Diebolt was born to Anthony and Mary (Metz) Diebolt on the family farm in rural Olpe, Kansas on July 10, 1916. The toddler eyes did not see the horrors of WWI but she felt the wrath of its effects when she lost her mother to the Spanish Influenza. Her maternal grandmother, Barbara, filled in for her mama and she learned to be the remarkable woman she would become from hours spent alongside her.
Eileen was adventurous and strong and learned to drive a car early, when most teenage girls didn’t, as those beautiful blue eyes would see for her beloved grandfather as she became his chauffeur when his own eyesight failed him. She helped in her father’s café and other family businesses throughout her youth.
Those blue eyes would meet with those gentle kind grey eyes of John Russell Crook and they would be forever united in marriage on August 24, 1937 at Saint Joseph Catholic Church, Olpe, Kansas. The blue eyes would cry ten thousand tears when he left her behind on September 28, 1973. He left her his beloved little dog, Candy, whom she professed not to love, but desperately loved as the blue eyes gazed upon the Chihuahua knowing Russell left them to comfort each other.
Those blue eyes would see hard times and hard work all her life but never a complaint was heard from her as she had realized God’s true calling of her when blessed with three sons, James (Kjestine) Crook of Saint Marys, Kansas, Jerry (Bev) Crook, and Doug (Diana) Crook, both of Olpe, Kansas. The boys knew the joy of home cooked meals and fresh baked bread and saw their mother raise many a large garden; canning the harvested fruits and vegetables many an hour in a hot kitchen long before the modern convenience of air conditioning. The blue eyes had endured past the depression and on to WWII where times grew even harder and leaner and onto years of drought and flood, but her resolve never wavered as she devoted herself to her husband and children. Ever the homemaker and farmer’s wife, she made her own soap, butter, and sewed for her family without the conveniences of modern appliances or plumbing.
As her children grew up, Elieen went to work outside the home and many a customer made contact with those blue eyes at the Olpe Chicken House. In time, her calling to motherhood, like that of her namesake, Mary, the Mother of God, would welcome the first of seven grandchildren into this world as she bestowed grandmotherly love upon Laschell Crook, Todd Crook, Kelly Crook, Eric Crook, Rebecca Baker, Heather Bailey, and Amy Coffman. The blue eyes would bring comfort to these babies as their beloved grandma soothed many an ache, dried many a tear and rocked many a resistant toddler to sleep. The joy she felt from being ‘Grandma’ would greatly fill the void of the blue eyes that longed to see her beloved Russell.
Those blue eyes would go on to greet customers and see the world continue to change as she worked at Peter Pan Ice Cream Store, Red X Pharmacy, Haynes Hardware and the Olpe Post Office. The bright blue eyes greeted many a patron and shared many a story and greeting with Lyon County residents over the years.
The blue eyes saw those grandchildren grow up and as their need for nurturing waned she was able to pursue her own interests. Being a lifetime resident of Olpe, and member of Saint Joseph Catholic Church, Eileen was also a member of Saint Ann’s Altar Society, the quilting club at the church, and Happy Homemakers Extension Homemakers Unit. Through her 90’s she had been an election board volunteer.
The blue eyes were blessed further when she was bestowed with the blessing of twenty great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren. Her faith would be put to the test when the big blue eyes would succumb to macular degeneration and her ability to see these babies would fade. Ever strong willed, she vowed to see those babies grow up and graduate and have babies of their own. The blue eyes grew tired but her job was not complete and she fought valiantly to complete her calling but Jesus called her home where he restores sight to the blind and she can once again look upon the faces of Russell and her Mother and Father and her great-granddaughter Courtney.
The blue eyes are closed now and the pains of this life are behind her, but for those of us who long to see the bluest eyes in Kansas, our eyes are filled with tears of sadness from our loss. They will someday be filled with tears of joy as the bluest skies in Kansas are really the bluest eyes in Kansas looking down on us from Heaven.
Mass of Christian Burial for Eileen will be at Saint Joseph Catholic Church, Olpe, on Tuesday, January 13, 2015 at 10:00 A.M. The Mass will be celebrated by Father John Cordes of the church. Interment will follow in Saint Joseph Catholic Cemetery, Olpe.
The Rosary will be recited at Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home, Emporia, Monday evening, January 12, 2015 at 7:00 P.M. The family will receive friends following the Rosary.
A memorial has been established to the church, with contributions sent in care of the funeral home. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Mary Eileen Crook, please visit our flower store.
Mary Eileen Diebolt was born to Anthony and Mary (Metz) Diebolt on the family farm in rural Olpe, Kansas on July 10, 1916. The toddler eyes did not see the horrors of WWI but she felt the wrath of its effects when she lost her mother to the Spanish Influenza. Her maternal grandmother, Barbara, filled in for her mama and she learned to be the remarkable woman she would become from hours spent alongside her.
Eileen was adventurous and strong and learned to drive a car early, when most teenage girls didn’t, as those beautiful blue eyes would see for her beloved grandfather as she became his chauffeur when his own eyesight failed him. She helped in her father’s café and other family businesses throughout her youth.
Those blue eyes would meet with those gentle kind grey eyes of John Russell Crook and they would be forever united in marriage on August 24, 1937 at Saint Joseph Catholic Church, Olpe, Kansas. The blue eyes would cry ten thousand tears when he left her behind on September 28, 1973. He left her his beloved little dog, Candy, whom she professed not to love, but desperately loved as the blue eyes gazed upon the Chihuahua knowing Russell left them to comfort each other.
Those blue eyes would see hard times and hard work all her life but never a complaint was heard from her as she had realized God’s true calling of her when blessed with three sons, James (Kjestine) Crook of Saint Marys, Kansas, Jerry (Bev) Crook, and Doug (Diana) Crook, both of Olpe, Kansas. The boys knew the joy of home cooked meals and fresh baked bread and saw their mother raise many a large garden; canning the harvested fruits and vegetables many an hour in a hot kitchen long before the modern convenience of air conditioning. The blue eyes had endured past the depression and on to WWII where times grew even harder and leaner and onto years of drought and flood, but her resolve never wavered as she devoted herself to her husband and children. Ever the homemaker and farmer’s wife, she made her own soap, butter, and sewed for her family without the conveniences of modern appliances or plumbing.
As her children grew up, Elieen went to work outside the home and many a customer made contact with those blue eyes at the Olpe Chicken House. In time, her calling to motherhood, like that of her namesake, Mary, the Mother of God, would welcome the first of seven grandchildren into this world as she bestowed grandmotherly love upon Laschell Crook, Todd Crook, Kelly Crook, Eric Crook, Rebecca Baker, Heather Bailey, and Amy Coffman. The blue eyes would bring comfort to these babies as their beloved grandma soothed many an ache, dried many a tear and rocked many a resistant toddler to sleep. The joy she felt from being ‘Grandma’ would greatly fill the void of the blue eyes that longed to see her beloved Russell.
Those blue eyes would go on to greet customers and see the world continue to change as she worked at Peter Pan Ice Cream Store, Red X Pharmacy, Haynes Hardware and the Olpe Post Office. The bright blue eyes greeted many a patron and shared many a story and greeting with Lyon County residents over the years.
The blue eyes saw those grandchildren grow up and as their need for nurturing waned she was able to pursue her own interests. Being a lifetime resident of Olpe, and member of Saint Joseph Catholic Church, Eileen was also a member of Saint Ann’s Altar Society, the quilting club at the church, and Happy Homemakers Extension Homemakers Unit. Through her 90’s she had been an election board volunteer.
The blue eyes were blessed further when she was bestowed with the blessing of twenty great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren. Her faith would be put to the test when the big blue eyes would succumb to macular degeneration and her ability to see these babies would fade. Ever strong willed, she vowed to see those babies grow up and graduate and have babies of their own. The blue eyes grew tired but her job was not complete and she fought valiantly to complete her calling but Jesus called her home where he restores sight to the blind and she can once again look upon the faces of Russell and her Mother and Father and her great-granddaughter Courtney.
The blue eyes are closed now and the pains of this life are behind her, but for those of us who long to see the bluest eyes in Kansas, our eyes are filled with tears of sadness from our loss. They will someday be filled with tears of joy as the bluest skies in Kansas are really the bluest eyes in Kansas looking down on us from Heaven.
Mass of Christian Burial for Eileen will be at Saint Joseph Catholic Church, Olpe, on Tuesday, January 13, 2015 at 10:00 A.M. The Mass will be celebrated by Father John Cordes of the church. Interment will follow in Saint Joseph Catholic Cemetery, Olpe.
The Rosary will be recited at Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home, Emporia, Monday evening, January 12, 2015 at 7:00 P.M. The family will receive friends following the Rosary.
A memorial has been established to the church, with contributions sent in care of the funeral home. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Mary Eileen Crook, please visit our flower store.
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