In Memory of

Martha

Eggenberger

Obituary for Martha Eggenberger

Remember Me
To the living, I am gone.
To the sorrowful, I will never return.
To the happy, I am at peace.
And to the faithful, I have never left.
Remember me in your hearts, your thoughts, your memories…
(Anonymous)

Martha Eggenberger passed away peacefully in the circle of family members on Sunday, October 14, 2018 at Brandywine Assisted Living, in Litchfield, CT.

Born on October 5, 1930 in Switzerland, Martha Zahnd was the oldest of four daughters. Her parents had a small farm in the town of Hagenbuch, Zurich. After completing school, she took on employment in the household of a large farming operation called Bruckgut in Munchenstein, Basel. There she met her future husband Henry Eggenberger. They married on May 29, 1954 and came to Crystal Hill Farm in Mill River, Ma. in December of 1956. In addition to raising and keeping track of four children, she ran the household and actively helped Henry on the farm – taking care of the calves and baling hay just to name a few. She kept a large flower and vegetable garden and was famous all over town for her baking and cooking skills. Henry and Martha were active members of the First Congregational Church in Southfield and the Umpachene Grange in Hartsville. Both sang in the choir and helped out at the Grange dinners..They had little time for vacations but did manage to get back to Switzerland every few years to visit family and friends there.

After Henry’s sudden death in 2004, Martha continued to live in the farmhouse on her own. Realizing that in order stay in this remote place she would have to be able to drive she took driving lessons. It wasn’t that she couldn’t drive, but she just never got around to getting her license. At the age of 76 she passed her driving test. From then on, she drove her more senior friends shopping and to doctor’s appointments. She joined her two close friends Anita Ormsbee and Nell McKenzie for weekly rounds of rummy cubes and continued singing in the choir. In short, she mastered life after Henry with great stoicism and grace. When she was not taking her walk or tending her garden she simply enjoyed sitting on the porch with her cats, doing word searches, and watching the neighbors drive by or the birds at the feeder.

Yes, she was a trooper. As she grew older she often said “I want to stay my own person” and her two daughters Silvia and Edie supported her wish by taking on many of the tasks that she could no longer do. After suffering several strokes and a fall down the stairs it became clear that she could no longer stay on Brewer Hill Road and she moved closer to Edie in Connecticut. As her memory and health began to fail she remained patient and uncomplaining, never losing her quick sense of humor. She will be remembered and greatly missed.
Martha is survived by her sister Emmi Weber; by her sister-in-law Annemarie Eggenberger-Nigg; by her children Annemarie Auer, Edie Mallick, Walter Eggenberger, and Silvia Eggenberger; by her grandchildren Emily Mallick, Andrew Mallick, Tess Hardcastle, Celeste Decensi, Monika Eggenberger and Madeline Eggenberger; and by her “step” grandsons Asa Hardcastle, Evan Hardcastle and Sam Hess.

A service for Martha will be held in the spring of 2019.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Martha Eggenberger can be made to the Visiting Nurse Service of Connecticut, 765 Fairfield Avenue, Bridgeport, Connecticut 06604 (http://vnsct.org/how_you_can_help.aspx).

Our heartfelt thanks go to the excellent, caring staff at Brandywine, who made it possible for her to live out her final years in comfort and dignity.
Her children