Eileen Wickenheiser

Eileen Wickenheiser, 87, died Monday, February 17, 2020 at CHI St. Alexius Health, Bismarck.

The funeral service will be held at 12:00 pm on Friday March 6, 2020 at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Parkway, Bismarck.

Burial will be held at 3:00 pm at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan.

Eileen was born on December 19 to Edward and Helen Lenihan in Bismarck. She grew up on the Lenihan Hereford Ranch near Baldwin where she enthusiastically enjoyed winter recreation and playing with the animals during any season. Her elementary education was acquired in a one room schoolhouse three miles from the home place and she graduated from St. Mary’s Central High School in Bismarck in 1950. A veracious reader, Eileen was self-educated and a highly skilled office worker. Since the family had relatives on the coast, she held jobs in both San Francisco and Seattle. After several years, she came home where she worked in the offices of Skelly Oil Company and then moved to Minneapolis where she was the office manager of a large company which was a forerunner to today’s big box stores. While in the twin cities, she met and married native North Dakotan James Wickenheiser, on August 29, 1959. Following the birth of their daughter Melissa, they returned to Bismarck in order to have a better place to raise their children, and added two sons, Daniel and Patrick, to the family. They reside in Southern California and Melissa lives in Bismarck and Turtle Lake.

Eileen was an amazing wife and mother who was focused on taking care of her family. She was active in her community and church family and loved entertaining friends and family at their Brush Lake cabin. In addition to her enjoyment of books and reading, Eileen loved music and was an excellent singer. Having been born into a musical family and marrying into a very musical family, some of her most fun times came from gathering around a piano with a group of singers with guitars and whatever else made music. Dancing was another favorite thing. She is now singing, dancing, and praising her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Eileen leaves behind her three children and a sister, Trish Lenihan of Mandan.

She is preceded in death by her husband, parents, grandparents, numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, and innumerable friends.