Eleanor C. '"Leni"' Cruess

CHESHIRE - Eleanor “Leni” (Mathews) Cruess, 93, passed away November 21, 2017, after a long illness. She was the wife of the late Thomas F. Cruess.

Mrs. Cruess was born August 21, 1924, in Medford, MA, the daughter of the late Patrick and Margaret (O’Brien) Mathews. She attended Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School in Boston and worked for Naval Intelligence from 1941 to 1945. She was Secretary to the Dean of Men at Middlebury College before her marriage.

She lived in Cheshire for many years, worked as secretary to the LaSalette Fathers and then for the Hoadley Montessori School. In 2003, she received the Archdiocesan Medal of Appreciation. Mrs. Cruess served as Secretary of the Darcy School P.T.A. and was a past President of the Cheshire League of Women Voters. She was a communicant of the Church of the Epiphany and a member of the Cheshire Garden Club. She enjoyed going to the Cheshire Senior Center with her friends.

She leaves her two sons, Thomas M. Cruess of West Haven, and Michael J. Cruess and his wife Laurie of Cheshire; her daughter, Eleanor M. "Noree" Cruess of Blandford, MA; 9 grandchildren Carrie, Jessie, Kendra, Kristine, Patrick, Heather, Danielle, Ricky, and Karliegh and 17 great grandchildren. She was predeceased by her sisters, Mary O’Rourke, Margaret Butler and Patricia Gately.

The family would like to thank the staff at The Village at Kensington Place in Meriden where she resided for the past 2 years for their great care and treatment.

Arrangements – Funeral services will be held on Saturday November 25, 2017, 10:30 a.m. from the Alderson-Ford Funeral Home of Cheshire, 615 South Main St. to Church Of The Epiphany for a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. Burial will follow in Calvary Cemetery, Waterbury. Visitation will be held on Saturday morning from 9 a.m. until the procession leaves for church. Memorial contributions may be made to the St. Vincent DePaul, 34 Willow Street, Waterbury, CT 06710.