Eileen Lampe

Eileen Lampe, aged 84, died peacefully surrounded by family on September 23, 2014 in Concord, North Carolina. Eileen was born May 21st, 1930 in New York, NY, the daughter of Eileen and Ralph Mackey. She began her college education at 16 and graduated from St. Lawrence University in New York.

Eileen had a true love for the outdoors, the environment and volunteer work. She spent many wonderful years in northern New Jersey where she was a French teacher at Lakeland High School, volunteered for environmental causes, was a girl scout leader and an active ‘scavenger’. In 1989 she and her husband Bill moved to Brevard, in the mountains of southwestern North Carolina, where they both continued to share their love of the outdoors and the live concerts at the Brevard Music Center and Brevard College.

Eileen was a hobby novelist/poet and short story writer and for many years wrote eloquently in her journals. She attended writers’ workshops at the John C. Campbell Folk School where, at age 65, though not an avid camper, decided to learn to pitch a tent and commune with nature rather than stay in the comfort of the dormitories. She was a voracious reader and loved to converse with others in both the written and spoken word.

After her husband’s death in 2013, she moved to Concord to live with her eldest daughter and to be closer to family. She became a regular at water aerobics as well as the Cabarrus Library book club and the sewing guild.

She is survived by her daughter, JoAnn Lampe of Concord; son, David and wife Elaine of Jersey City, NJ; daughter, Ellen Richardson and husband, Jim, of Roswell, GA; son, William and wife Kim of Pompton Plains, NJ, grandchildren, Sarah Wiberg Thompson and husband Chuck, of Huntersville; Dana Wiberg Peterlin and husband, Scott, of Concord; Patrick Richardson of Roswell, GA, Jennifer Richardson Steverson and husband, Josh of Woodstock, GA; Erik and Will Lampe of Pompton Plains, NJ; great-grandchildren, Alex and Abigail Peterlin of Concord; Maddox Thompson of Huntersville; and Scarlett Steverson of Woodstock, GA. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Wings of Eagles Ranch, 4800 Faith Trails, Concord, NC 28025.

A celebration of Eileen's life will be held at 4:00pm on Saturday, September 27, 2014 at Hartsell Funeral Home Chapel in Concord.