Obituary of Eileen Saunders

Eileen Saunders, 95, passed away at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mt. Kisco, NY, on Saturday February 19, 2022 after a short illness.  Eileen raised her family of four children in Port Washington, Long Island before retiring with her husband to Heritage Hills, Somers, NY, for the last 28 years.

Eileen was born on September 27, 1926 in Astoria, NY to Thomas M. Lappin, Jr, and Gertrude Lappin (Puschmann).  Her mother came from Breslau, Germany to the United States in 1910, speaking no English.  Eileen was an only child and had no siblings.  In 1948, she married Osmond E. Saunders of Brooklyn, NY who pre-deceased her in 2013. Together they had four children,

Eileen went to Junior and Senior High School in Astoria, NY, where Tony Bennett (then Anthony Benedetto) was her classmate, and she was voted “Most Beautiful Girl” in her senior high school year.  Eileen attended Adelphi University, Garden City, NY, for nursing during the Second World War, but later pursued a career in banking at Long Island City Savings.  Later, after raising her children, she worked at Publishers Clearing House, Port Washington, NY, for 18 years as a Department Manager.

Eileen was the spouse of the late Osmond E. Saunders who passed in 2013 and is the much-loved mother of Osmond E. (Ellen) Saunders, Jr. of University Place, WA., Ronald T. Saunders, of Somers, NY, Patricia S. (Donald) Dishinger of Yorktown Heights, NY, and Brian M. (Elizabeth) Saunders of Princeton Junction, NJ.  She is the treasured grandmother of Lauren and Courtney Dishinger, and Douglas and Patricia Saunders. 

A private memorial is planned at Clark Associates Funeral Home, 4 Woods Bridge Rd., Katonah, NY on Friday, February 25, 2022. 

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, February 25, 2022 at 10:00am at St. Joseph’s RC Church, 95 Plum Brook Rd, Somers, NY 10589.  Interment will follow at St. Charles Cemetery, Farmingdale, NY.

Memorial contributions may be made to the National Foundation for the Blind (Foundation Fighting Blindness), P.O. Box 45740, Baltimore, MD 21297, or the St. Francis Breadline, 144 West 32nd St., New York NY,10001