Eileen Rooney Driscoll of Peterborough, NH, formerly of Dedham MA and Cincinnati Ohio, died Wednesday, April 2 at the age of 79 after a brief illness. Beloved wife of he late Philip J. Driscoll, she leaves her five children, Katharine D. Coon of Marshfield, MA, Ellen Driscoll of Brooklyn NY, Philip J. Driscoll Jr. of Belle Mead, NJ, Hope Driscoll of Arlington VA and Moira Driscoll of Portland, ME. She also leaves seven grandchildren: Alexander CP Coon, Daniel Coon, Katharine Coon, Sarah Driscoll, Emily Driscoll, Owen Driscoll Pence, Mabel Pence and her three siblings: John Rooney of Sycamore, IL, Kathleen Rooney of Keene NH and James Rooney of Sharon Vt, along with many nieces and nephews and devoted friends.
Eileen was born July 31, 1928 in Dedham MA to John and Eileen (Flaherty) Rooney. Graduating first in her class at Dedham High School, she was awarded the Smith College Scholarship. Majoring in Art history, Eileen spent her junior year abroad in France, and returned to graduate Summa Cum Laude. She remained very active in Smith College Alumnae affairs, and was co-chair of her reunion committee for her class’s upcoming 60th reunion.
While on an archaeological dig on the island of Samothrace with Professor Karl Lehman, Eileen’s flashlight dropped into a drainpipe on the excavation site. When a workman helped to retrieve the flashlight, with it came the hand of the Winged Victory of Samothrace, which is now in the Louvre in Paris. Eileen pursued her Master’s in Art History at NYU and taught Art History at Brandeis, Beaver Country Day School and Noble and Greenough before completing a Master’s in Library Science at Simmons. She served as Director of the new Media Center at Dedham Country Day School before being appointed Assistant Head of School. In the early seventies, she became Principal of the Lotspeich School in Cincinnati, Ohio, which she led ably until her retirement in 1993. For many years, she edited the Newsletter of the Council for Women in Independent Schools. She led NAIS workshops at Garrison Forest School for women aspiring to become school heads. In Dedham, Eileen was very active in League of Women Voters and Fair Housing Committee; she believed all her life in the importance of social justice.
Eileen was a world traveler, whose most recent trip abroad was a study tour to Alsace- Lorraine this fall, focusing on the effects of the German occupation on France. She traveled often to London and New York to see the best of contemporary theater and she studied watercolor painting in the inspiring environs of the Monadnock region. She lived a rich, full life, intellectually engaged, personally and artistically fulfilling, right up to the very end, where she was surrounded by her children, family and friends who loved her very much and will sorely miss her. She was diagnosed less than two weeks ago with MDS (Myelodysplastic Syndrome), and died of complications of this rapidly progressive disease. She died comfortably and peacefully at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Visiting hours will be held from 4-8 PM on Saturday April 5 at the George Doherty and Sons Funeral Home, 456 High Street, Dedham MA
A memorial service will be held Saturday, May 24 at 2:00 PM at All Saints Church, 51 Concord Street, Peterborough NH. Internment at Old Calvary Cemetery in Roslindale MA will be private.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Eileen’s name may be made to the Sharon Arts Center, 7 School Street, Peterborough NH 03458 or The Peterborough Town Library, 2 Concord Street, Peterborough NH 03458.