Eleanor H.J. Feil

Eleanor Hedwig Johanna Bohnet Feil, 85, of Lasher Road in Selkirk, passed peacefully on May 3, 2020, at Albany Medical Center, after a long struggle with scleroderma. She was born on August 12, 1934, and was the daughter of the late Theodore Horst Bohnet and Emelia Deeg Bohnet.

Eleanor worked for a number of years as a comptometer operator for the New York Telephone Company, before leaving to raise her family. Beyond that, she was a woman with many talents and interests.

She was very proud of her German heritage. Her parents were from Pforzheim and Ispringen. She could speak German, and this became most evident when her children would not listen to her.

Cooking was something that she and the rest of her family took great pride in. She was an excellent cook, especially of German cuisine. Her Spaetzle was legendary, as was her Apfel Kuchen. She also made some of the best pies, from scratch.

Never one to sit around the house for too long, she was also an accomplished bowler. For 32 years, every Friday night, she and her husband bowled in the Delsmere Mixed league at Del Lanes in Delmar. For well over 40 years, she bowled in a Tuesday afternoon women's league on the Sunny Acres Thunderbirds team. Both she and her husband regularly bowled in, and won, tournaments.

Eleanor also loved to travel. She and her husband took a number of cross-country camping trips, just the two of them and also with family. The only two states that they never visited were Alaska and Hawaii.

Family was very important to her, and the family would frequently get together to try new German and Japanese restaurants, no matter how long the road trip. Holidays were always spent together; talking, laughing, and enjoying amazing food.

Eleanor was also a terrific gardener, and took great pride in her beautiful flower beds and the vegetable gardens around her home.

She was very close to her sister and sisters-in-law, and they would very often travel together to various arboreta, and also the Philadelphia Flower Show, in search of new and different plants for their gardens. She was also always giving people plants, happy to share the results of her very green thumb. She and "the ladies" would also frequently attend various shows, and would always hit the movies and have lunch, to celebrate birthdays.

Eleanor is survived by her husband of almost 67 years, James Donald Feil, and by her two children, Lisa Marie Feil and John Michael Feil, both of Selkirk, her brother Eric (Mary) Bohnet, her sister Emily Wink, brother- and sister-in-law Robert and Ruby Kibbey, as well as many, many cherished nieces and nephews.

A private gathering in her honor will be held at a later date, at the convenience of the family.

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