Lucy “Eileen” Rundell Hoskinson, 102, passed away October 2, 2026, in Bolivar, Missouri. She was born May 1, 1924, in Avoca, New York, to Harry and Maude Rundell. She grew up in Avoca and graduated as valedictorian of Avoca Central School in 1941.

Eileen came of age during a time of great change. During World War II, she worked as a welder at Bethlehem Steel in Buffalo, New York. She later worked in administration at Goodyear Tire and as a medical transcriptionist at the Buffalo VA Hospital. During the Vietnam War, she worked in the hospital’s operating room supervising medical records transcription. At a time when college students and others across the country were protesting the war, her work at the VA gave her a different perspective on the human cost of the conflict as she saw young men returning with devastating injuries. She continued her medical transcription work as an independent contractor even after moving from New York to Bolivar, Missouri, in the early 1990s.

Eileen also experienced firsthand the changing treatment of tuberculosis. As a young woman, she spent time at the Mount Morris Tuberculosis Sanatorium in New York and participated in tuberculosis treatment trials, at a time when patients could face lengthy periods of bed rest and hospitalization. Her life thus spanned a remarkable transformation in medicine as well as in society.

She preserved food from her own garden and loved making jams from wild berries gathered near her childhood home. Her homemade divinity and fudge were favorite treats at family gatherings. She enjoyed Scrabble, bowling, birdwatching, and deer hunting with the “guys” every Thanksgiving during the 1950s and ’60s.

Eileen also had an adventurous side. She traveled to California and Hawaii to visit her daughter, Pamela, and enjoyed birding with her in Marin County. At age 90, she traveled to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas for another birding adventure.

Family was especially important to Eileen. She was close to her siblings and maintained strong family ties throughout her life. She enjoyed traveling with her sister Elma after Elma’s husband died, was close to her brother Norm, and always welcomed Viola’s children to the family home in Gasport. She was especially close to her grandchildren Derick and Christine, who lived nearby in New York when they were young and continued to visit her in Bolivar. Though quiet and modest about herself, Eileen was always willing to help others.

After her husband died in 2003, Eileen continued to live independently on their property outside Bolivar until she was 92. She remained active, serving as secretary and treasurer of the local senior bowling league until 2016. After a fall at home in 2020, she moved to an assisted living community in Bolivar, where she spent the remaining years of her life.

Eileen is survived by her son, Lloyd Curtis Hoskinson Jr.; daughter, Pamela Clark (Robert); grandchildren Derick Hoskinson of Chicago, Illinois, Christine Hoskinson of Kingsville, Texas, and Evan Clark and his wife, Sarah, of Denver, Colorado; her youngest brother, Frank Rundell of Avoca, New York; and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Harry and Maude Rundell; her husband, Lloyd C. Hoskinson; brothers Jim and Norman Rundell; and sisters Elma, Doris, and Viola.

Eileen’s life spanned more than a century of remarkable change. She will be remembered for her quiet strength, independence, generosity, love of family, curiosity about nature, and especially her love of Scrabble.

She will be laid to rest at the Springfield, Missouri Veterans Cemetery beside her husband,
Lloyd.