Obituary of Eleanor Campbell Schlaretzki

Eleanor Campbell Schlaretzki, 94, died April 26, 2015 at the Wilson Health Care Center, Asbury Methodist Village, Gaithersburg, MD. The daughter of Rev. Frank A. Campbell and Gertrude Dowling Campbell, Eleanor was born August 4, 1920, in Illinois, where she grew up with her two brothers James and John. She graduated from Rochelle High School (1938), Monmouth College (1942), and received a Master of Arts Degree from the University of Illinois (1945). Her career included serving as a resident caseworker at the Garibaldi Institute Settlement House in Chicago, teaching fifth grade at the Park School in Brookline, Massachusetts, and two decades teaching kindergarten in Montgomery County, Maryland at schools including Park Street, Brookhaven and Glenhaven. An accomplished amateur actress, she met her husband W. Ernest Schlaretzki when both performed in "The Importance of Being Ernest" at Monmouth College. Following his service in the Navy during WWII, the couple wed in 1948. The Schlaretzkis lived in Stillwater, Oklahoma; Ithaca, New York; and Cambridge, Massachusetts before moving to Maryland in 1956 when Dr. Schlaretzki joined the faculty of the Philosophy Department of the University of Maryland. Over more than thirty years at the University, Mrs. Schlaretzki was known for her gracious hospitality in their Wheaton home (designed by architect Charles Goodman). The couple moved to Asbury Methodist Village, Gaithersburg, in 1995. Mrs. Schlaretzki and her husband were consummate practitioners of the arts of friendship and conversation. The couple travelled extensively in Europe, enjoying architecture, art, countryside walks, and fine food. Mrs. Schlaretzi had a particular fondness for London, the Hebrides, Harpswell, Maine, and Manns Choice, Pennsylvania. She was widely and deeply read, writing her final paper in 1999 on the poetry of Robert Frost, and presenting it at the Keyes School, Asbury. Dr. Schlaretzki died in 1999, shortly after their fiftieth wedding anniversary. Mrs. Schlaretzki, a member of the Bethesda United Church of Christ since 1962, is survived by niece Ellen Campbell Pskowski of Washington, D.C.; nephews Donald Campbell of Brooklyn, New York; James Campbell of San Francisco, California; Bruce Campbell and Douglas Campbell of Chicago, Illinois; and John Madan of Binghamton, New York. Survivors also include three grand-nieces, four grand-nephews, two god-sons, and local, national, and international friends. Memorial Service will be held at The Bethesda United Church of Christ, 10010 Fernwood Rd., Bethesda, MD 20817 on Sunday May 31st at 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to The BUCC or to The Schlaretzki Fund, a scholarship fund established in her husband's honor at the University of Maryland (checks payable to the University of Maryland, memo: W.E. Schlaretzki Fund CT-0359, in memory of Eleanor Schlarezki, Office of Gift Acceptance, 4603 Calvert Rd., College Park, MD 20740).