Lillian Audrey Eagles, 91, died on Wednesday, May 31, 2017 at The Terraces in Orleans, MA. She was born at home in Randolph, MA to Lillian Florence (DeShon) and Chester Lawton Holmes in 1926. Audrey attended school in Stoughton, MA and graduated HS in 1944. During the summer of 1944, she was a nanny for two boys in E. Dennis, before starting her education and training with United States Cadet Nurse Corps at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, (Brigham & Women’s) in Boston, MA. This included training at Boston Lying-In and a course in Public Health at Simmons College. One significant part of this course was participating in working duties with the Boston Visiting Nurse Association in Roslindale and West Roxbury.
She married David Eagles on May 29, 1946. In addition to Audrey’s main focus, David and her three children, she always had ongoing projects of sewing, knitting or gardening in conjunction with volunteer positions in her community that paralleled her household demands and expectations of raising a family with great love and pride.
Audrey’s life with David was filled many great experiences and travels. Starting in 1956, their summers were spent on Cape Cod, living in a trailer at Nickerson State Park in Brewster. During the summer of 1959, the entire family traveled by car towing a 16’ trailer across the US for 10 weeks. In 1962 the summer project was to build a home in Eastham, where many wonderful lifelong friendships & memories flourished and were established. By 1985 Audrey & Dave decided to make Eastham their permanent residence. In the years that followed, they travelled extensively: Switzerland, Vancouver, Nova Scotia, Japan, UK, Taiwan, multiple reunions across the US with David’s 451st Bombardier group. They enjoyed several Alaskan, cruises, a cruise from South America through the Panama Canal, and their final cruise in Europe, 2008 at the ages of 82 &84. Each summer, Audrey’s niece & husband, hosted the Holmes Family Reunion in Maine at their home on Sebago Lake. Family was central to Audrey.
Audrey was married to David for 68 years at the time of his death in 2014. Her oldest sibling, Clayton Holmes predeceased her in 2014 and her grandson, Keith D. Eisner in 2002. She is survived by her older sister, Cora Chapman and younger brother, Chester Lawton Holmes, Jr. She was deeply loved by her family and is fondly remembered by her son, Jeffery D. Eagles (Yasuko Fujita), daughter, Cheryl Eagles Eisner (Kenneth), and son, Dana B. Eagles (Gwyned Trefethen). Her grandchildren and their spouses: Christine & George Convery, Miranda & Jason Wojnar, Marissa Eagles and Adrian & Kylee Eagles along with her great grandchildren, Andrew, Mathew, Benjamin(Wojnar), Allison(Convery), Mikayla and Ariana(Eagles).
The family wishes to express its gratitude to Audrey’s numerous friends who spent countless hours visiting and calling her at the Terraces. Many others sent cards and letters, which Audrey in turn would reciprocate. The Eagles’ family also wishes to express its sincere gratitude to the many caretakers at The Terraces and VNA Hospice, who provided Audrey with loving comfort care in her remaining days at The Terraces.
Remembrances can be made to the VNA Hospice & Palliative Care of Cape Cod, 434 Route 134, Suite D-3, South Dennis, MA 02660.
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