Eileen Mary Sparling

Eileen Mary O’Shea Sparling from Abbeyfeale Limerick Ireland lived a long full life and was 92 years old when she finally passed. Eileen was an amazingly strong and independent woman who overcame every obstacle along the way. She fought her whole life to provide for her kids and family and kept her faith close to guide her. She fought for the last several years through medical issues, surgeries, falls and the last six months she has been fighting on her death bed. She said just last month “I told the angels to go away”; they were scaring me”. She was going to go only when she was good and ready. She was a woman of faith and believed in Jesus with her whole heart, prayed her rosaries and kept all the commandments to the end. She leaves a great legacy of three children- Eileen, John and Catherine, seven grandkids, Sarah, Izzi, Joseph, Ryan, Joe, Liam and Emma and three great grandkids: Trey, Finley and Sawyer. Strong and Independent To Describe Eileen Is An Understatement. As a young teenager in Abbeyfeale, Limerick she left her family to work in Dublin. She did that for a year and saved enough money to take the boat to New York at the age of 17. She lived with her Irish aunties for a while and even paved the way for her younger brother William O’Shea to come to America and start his own family and legacy.
They lived in an apartment together on Marion Avenue in the Bronx for a while until they both met the loves of their lives, got married and had families. She married Thomas Sparling (Tommy) It took a lot of courage and strength to come here from Ireland as a young lady but that was Eileen to her core. As a mom, she was also unconditionally and lovingly in her children’s corner every day of their lives. She was her children’s strongest supporter. She moved her family out of the projects on the upper east side of Manhattan when the neighborhood changed and bought a house in Smithtown with the money she saved to give her children a better life. She created an environment in which church and faith mattered and provided for a catholic education for them. She was the one that drove the car in the family and kept the family together when Tommy got sick and then died in 1977. She taught so many things and instilled an incredible work ethic and faith. She was an awesome wife- she kept and personified wedding vows. She was true in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health and loved him all the days of his life. She was a looker and good dresser as well. After Tommy passed, her amazing qualities had her in demand and she fittingly had at least two other loves. She had a serious loving boyfriend Karl who wanted to sail her around the world on their sailboat the “Eileen Aroon” which he named after her and the song. She ultimately married again with Stan Skiba and they had a great love affair, life and memories together until he passed in 2020. She will be with Tommy now and next to him in St. Charles Cemetery.Eileen was a strong self-sufficient woman way before her time. She had a long successful career with the phone company that provided for her family and herself. It is amazing that she put her kids through school, bought her own homes and cars and worked hard to have her own pension and provide for her entire life and retirement on her own. Pretty special stuff. Eileen-you done good. You did better than good- you did amazing. Eileen was also one to share her good fortune. She had many charities – neighborhood or parish activities that she supported through the years. Whether it was working bingo night at the church or staffing the parish consignment shop, she wanted to help others. And she particularly wanted to support the religious personnel who did God’s work. She was a regular donor to not only her local parish, whether here in New York or in North Carolina or Delaware, but to many missionary efforts and religious education initiatives. From sending money to missionary effort or collecting thousands of aluminum can pop tops for school fundraisers, she enjoyed doing the good work. Eileen- we will miss you dearly. She loved being a grandmother and enjoyed doting on all her grandchildren. Whether it was baking large tins of oatmeal cookies, or cooking for family holidays with enough food for those present AND another busload of folks, just in case someone stopped by. She was generous and wanted her grandchildren to enjoy life. She would send a check in a birthday card, support the school fundraisers and buy candles, wrapping paper, whatever. and then as they got older, quietly help with buying that first car so they could keep some money in the bank. She was Irish as the day is long and that never faded. She was so proud of her heritage and her family. Even these last few weeks when she was in and out of consciousness and failing, she would mouth the words to “Oh Danny Boy” when we sang the song to her. 92 is a great long life. Alzhiemer’s Disease cut the quality of Eileen’s life short. Alzhiemer’s is a terrible disease. We are taking Eileen’s spirit for helping and contributing and committing to help funding Alzheimer’s Disease research. Please consider joining us in lieu of flowers with a donation in her memory at the following link <ahref=”https://events.alz.org/fundraisers/eileensparling”>https://events.alz.org/fundraisers/eileensparling
The gates of heaven have opened for Eileen Mary O’Shea Sparling. Let’s celebrate and hold on to her memory. She has earned her eternal reward in heaven.