Obituary of Eleanor C. Muellers

Eleanor “Nonie” (Carey) Muellers, age 84, of Rockville Centre, NY passed away on December 19, 2022 at her home surrounded by loved ones following a brief illness. She is survived by her beloved husband of 63 years, Theodore “Ted”, her four children, Sharon (Dave Prodell), Peter (Wendy), Brian (Rebecca) and Ken (Janice Razzano), and her nine grandchildren who she considered “the dessert of life”, Kim, Sarah, Matt, Samantha, Tobias, Nick, Josh, Anabelle and Harry. She was preceded in death by her sisters, Barbara Goodman and Alice Brown. Nonie was deeply devoted to her family, and she made celebrations of life’s milestones and traditions always feel special with her talent for delicious meals and baked goods at the center of every event. She collected deep and loyal friendships – some lasting a lifetime and others only recently discovered. She loved gardening, and after earning her Master Gardener certification, she spent years routinely volunteering at Cornell Cooperative Extension’s East Meadow Farm. Nonie served as Co-President of the Oceanside Garden Club and planned many wonderful gardening seminars for her fellow gardeners. She was an active congregant at St. Agnes serving as an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist, volunteering at the outreach center and, years earlier, volunteering as a religion teacher. Having received her Master’s degree in reading education, Nonie was an avid reader and participant in book clubs and always had a good book to recommend. Nonie was dedicated to children in both her career and in her volunteer activities. She retired in 2000 from Hewlett Elementary School where she taught second grade since 1986. Prior to that she taught second grade from 1982 to 1986 at Lawrence Country Day School and was a nursery school teacher at St. Marks Co-operative Nursery School from 1968 to 1982. She volunteered with the Early Childhood Education Council and the board of Rosa Lee Young Childhood Center where she served as president for five years. Visitation will be held on Thursday, December 22 at Towers Funeral Home in Oceanside from 3:00 to 5:00 pm and from 7:00 to 9:00 pm with a funeral to follow at St. Anthony’s Roman Catholic Church in Oceanside on Friday, December 23 at 10:45 am. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Rosa Lee Young Childhood Center, 180 North Village Ave, Rockville Centre, NY 11570 or the Oceanside Garden Club, c/o Olga Bomfort, 600 Gilbert St, Baldwin, NY 11510. “Look for me in the butterflies. I’ll be in the butterflies.”