Obituary of Colletta L. Eisenhofer

Colletta Lucille (Hoye) Eisenhofer, 95, of Iowa City, passed away on Sunday, May 29 at the Solon Care Center. A Celebration of Life will be held on Wednesday, June 29, at 10:30 am (gathering from 10-10:30 am), at St. Patrick Church. Visitation will be held at Gay and Ciha Funeral and Cremation on Tuesday, June 28th from 4-6 pm. Colletta will be laid to rest following Mass at St. Joseph cemetery in Iowa City. Colletta was born on August 20, 1926, in Twin Lakes Township, Iowa, to Thomas and Josephine Pierick Hoye. The Hoye family moved to Iowa City when Colletta was a small child. Colletta graduated from St. Patrick High School in 1944. She married Joseph J. Eisenhofer, the love of her life, on September 3, 1946, at St. Patrick church. They were the loving parents of Joanne, Joseph, Catherine, and Christine. Colletta worked in Operator Services at Northwestern Bell for over 25 years. After she retired, she enrolled in the University of Iowa and received her bachelor’s degree in May 1990 at the young age of 63. She started her second career at Pearson and retired a second time in her mid-seventies. Colletta was an avid reader and made weekly trips to the library. She enjoyed watching car races, her favorites were the Indy 500 and any NASCAR race. She also enjoyed doing crossword puzzles, especially the New York Times puzzles, and always in ink. Her greatest love was her family. She was so proud of her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Colletta is survived by her children, Joe Eisenhofer, Cathy (Steve) White, and Chris (Bill) Donahue. Her grandchildren, Brandy (Stuart) Altstadter, Cliff (Jennie) Baumback, Josie (Kevin) Lewis, Katie (Jeff) Ellwanger, Matt (Katie) White, Allison (Allan) Cashatt, Ashton (Josh) Stafford, and Shannon (Owen) Gerard. Her great grandchildren, Caroline, Sarah, Robert, Payton, Charlotte, Ashleigh, Liam, Finnegan, Sydney, Evan, Maggie, Lucy, Eli, Jack, Jacey, Shea, Grant, Beau, and McKenna. Brother William Hoye; sister Trudy Rocca, and sister-in-law, Veronica Hoye. Son-in-law, Rex Baumback and daughter-in-law, Cathy Eisenhofer, and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband in 1989, daughter Joanne Baumback in 2007, her parents and siblings Tom Hoye, Merle Hoye, Dolores Hoye, and Marcelene Sillman. Memorials may be directed to the Iowa City Public Library or the Alzheimer’s Association Greater Iowa Chapter. Colletta’s family extends a sincere, heartfelt thank you to the wonderful, caring staff at St. Croix Hospice, the Solon Care Center (especially those in the Memory Care unit), and Briarwood Care Center. Thank you all for taking such great care of our mother.