Ellen Frances Eickhoff

Ellen Frances Eickhoff, Ellen Frances Eickhoff died Wednesday, April 18, 2018 in Indianapolis. Born November 9, 1923, she was the only child of Arthur and Esther Boehne Eickhoff, and grew up in a home rich with loving parents and extended family. It was through their example that she learned the importance of education, humility and helping others. Her mother was a particular influence, dedicating untold volunteer hours to benefit children. Frances earned a Bachelor of Arts at Hanover College in 1945, and a Master of Arts at Indiana University in 1952. She was a social worker in the Indianapolis Public Schools for twenty-five years before retiring to fulfill her lifelong dream of establishing a private practice as a clinical social worker in 1972. In that role, she offered professional counseling for individuals, couples and groups. After assisting many individuals struggling with addiction issues, Frances established the professional counseling service at Fairbanks Hospital. She served on the organization’s Board of Directors during its expansion into the current Fairbanks Hospital on the Community Hospital North campus. She attended a summer school program at the University of Utah to strengthen her skills in addiction counseling. Frances served as president of the Indiana Chapter of the Clinical Social Workers of Indiana and attended a symposium at Oxford University in the United Kingdom where she shared with and learned from other professionals from the United States and foreign nations. For four years, she trained and mentored graduate students in clinical social work. She retired from private practice in 1993, but continued her dedication to individuals and families grappling with addiction. She volunteered at the Tara Treatment Center in Franklin, Indiana for 20 years, retiring as Board Chair earlier this year. But for all her commitment to her practice and her clients, Frances’s great love was travel. Her first European vacation was in the summer of 1957 when she and her aunt spent four weeks touring different countries. After that experience, Frances enjoyed every opportunity to travel; she went with friends, with family, and sometimes by herself, visiting London seven times, Switzerland six times, and made trips to Russia before the fall of the Iron Curtain, to Warsaw, Budapest, Germany, Austria and many more. She recalls one trip to Heidi’s home in the Swiss Alps with eleven family members. She flew on the Concorde SST, and cruised on the Queen Elizabeth 2, and along the way added many of her co-travelers to her long list of enduring friends. A true highlight was her eight-week ‘round the world trip with two close friends; the trip of a lifetime included many surprises, from a flight on a leaky vintage-WWII plane to an accidental, unplanned border crossing into a Middle Eastern country that was not on the itinerary. But regardless of her destination and traveling companions, Frances said, she “never had a boring trip”. Frances considered herself blessed throughout her life by many exceptional friends, and her family and friends were blessed by the grace and humor with which she met every challenge and experience. Frances and her father nursed her mother through a long illness before she passed away in 1953. Her father preceded Frances in death in 1986, just shy of his 103rd birthday. She is survived by the cousins whom she lovingly referred to as “my siblings”: Charles Boehne, Martha Bollenbacher, Ted Eickhoff, Betsy Hanak, John Heseman, Miriam Kussrow, Carol Zoble and the families of Ada Reek, Barbara Voelkert and William Boehne. Visitation will be Tuesday, April 24, 2018 from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. at Cross of Grace Lutheran Church, 3519 S. 600 West, New Palestine, IN 46163, where Frances was a charter member. A service will begin at 1:00 p.m. at the church. In lieu of flowers, Frances requested memorial donations go to the Cross of Grace Lutheran Church, and/or Tara Treatment Center, Inc. 6231 South US 31, Franklin, IN 46131, and/or to Lutheran Child and Family Services, 1525 N. Ritter Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46219. Final care and arrangements are entrusted to Shirley Brothers Washington Memorial Chapel.

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Ellen Frances Eickhoff

November 9, 1923 - April 18, 2018