Obituary of Elizabeth F. Eberhart

Elizabeth (Liz) Eberhart died suddenly on Sunday, November 14th at the age of 77 in Mendham, NJ. She was in her beloved Hilltop Church, waiting for choir rehearsal to start. She loved her church and her family deeply and will be missed by all. Betsy Fasnacht was born in Sheridan, PA and was raised in Schaefferstown before going to college at Penn State University. It was as a home economics major at PSU that she began to build a lifelong committment to feeding the people she cared about. Her expertise in making the perfect pie crust provided many desserts for the Akron Restaurant. She was not a gourmet cook - Lizzie was a master of comfort foods and her meatloaf and potato salad were the stuff of renown and often requested for special occasions, Wednesday dinner, potlucks and picnics. It was also at PSU that she met her husband of 56 years, Donald (never Don) Eberhart while working at the Allencrest Restaurant. They were married in 1954, and the following year, the first of their four children was born. They spent many years in Ephrata, PA, where Liz was involved in the Jayncees and was feted as the chapter president of the year for Pennsylvania for 1966-67. It was during the Ephrata years that Liz and Donald developed a lifelong love of Bridge. Liz was an avid player, and played cards on the last night of her life, making a 5 Diamonds bid that Donald called a real stretch, and winning the night. She was most pleased. When the family moved to Rockford, IL, her love of volunteering for her church was ignited. Liz started a "Meet and Eat" program at the church that served lunch to area senior citizens 5 days a week. She was chef, planner, dishwasher and friend to the many who came. She served on various committees, and starting singing in the choir. Liz and Donald were active with the young married group at Bethel United Church of Christ, and were sorely missed when they moved again to Mendham, NJ. For the last 33 years, Liz has been a faithful member of Hilltop Church, serving on the worship committee, singing in the choir, organizing the vast store of music (you were NOT allowed to say that the music was not in your folder), keeping a succession of Music Ministers on their toes, and was the driving organizational force for 9 years of Messiah presentations. The ALPHA fellowship, again for senior citizens, was her baby and she fed the seniors once a month, until some of those seniors were actually her juniors. During all the years of church work, Liz was the glue holding her family together. She fiercely defended her cubs from all threats, foreign and domestic...even Dad. And it was always done with love. She was the master of the one line zinger - mostly at Donald's expense - and always said them with a smile and a twinkle in her eye. Her ready laugh lit up a room. Her favorite time of year was the Christmas holidays. She couldn't keep a secret and was a notorious present snoop. But she never received a gift that wasn't displayed somewhere in the house, because they were all given and received with great love. The greatest joy of her life was her grandchildren. She cared for her first grandchild during the first year of her life, taking her to bowling, bridge, church - it was "have playpen, will travel." No matter what, all five of them were her pride and joy. She loved her children dearly, but with her grandchildren, they could do no wrong. There are many traits for which she will be remembered: highly organized - nothing ever stayed lost in the house for long; a friend for life - there were representatives from everywhere they had ever lived at Liz and Donald's 50th anniversary party; talking to trees - particularly the ash tree in Rockford, which is, even now, the tallest tree on the street; her inside line to God for great weather - requested by many for special occasions; "adopting" the friends of all her children - many more than four people called her "Mom"; her computer skills (as long as something didn't go wrong, and then it was on the phone to her personal tech support, Lee); a ruthless sense of justice - there was the whole Oscar Mayer incident that until the very end kept those products out of her kitchen; never procrastinated - every project was seen through to completion, without stopping, and nothing was left unfinished. Through her life, she was known by many names: Elizabeth, Betsy, Liz, Lizzie, Lizzard, beloved wife, loving mother, Mom, Ma, dearest Mamma, darling sister, cherished friend. Although all who knew her will miss her, she will be most sorely missed by the family she left behind: her husband Donald, Mendham, NJ; daughter Lizabeth Lee Ballard and husband Rex, Bound Brook, NJ; daughter Linda Eberhart, Taneytown, MD; son David Eberhart and wife Terri, Rocky Hill, CT; son Daniel Eberhart and partner Cindy Szumski, Sparta, NJ; her grandchildren, Elizabeth Rachel Eberhart, Chicago, IL; Ryan and Kendall Kiernan, Taneytown, MD; James and Bridget Eberhart, Rocky Hill, CT; sister Amy Davidson, CA; brother Larry Fasnacht, PA and many nieces and nephews. Visitations will be at the Bailey Funeral Home in Mendham, on Friday, November 19th, from 2-4 PM and 7-9 PM. Graveside interment will be at Hilltop Cemetary at 10:30 AM on Saturday, November 20th with memorial service to follow at 11:00 AM at Hilltop Church, 20 Hilltop Road, Mendham. In lieu of flowers, donations are requested for Liz's most beloved charity, the Hilltop Church Music Fund.