Eleanor M. Carlin of Franklin passed peacefully away on June 14, 2024, at her home with her loving family by her side after a brief battle with cancer. She was 87.
Born on Butler Street in Franklin to the late John and Mary (Kara) Christian, Eleanor grew up in Franklin with her two sisters and brother.
She was a member of the Franklin High School Class of 1955, then graduated from Wilfred Beauty Academy in Newark.
She worked at Sol Rosen’s store on Main Street. There she met her future husband, David Carlin; they were married for 50 years.
She worked at Selected Risk and later at Picatinny Arsenal until her first daughter was born.
When her daughters were older, she returned to the workforce, enjoying her jobs at Michael’s Jewelers and Barney’s Hardware. She later worked for many years in Dr. Dion Ramirez’s medical office with Genie Estell. She loved that job!
After her husband, David, died in 2007, she worked for five years for Bon Worth ladies clothing store.
She later reconnected with good friend Rolland Pittenger, and they were married Oct. 26, 2013.
Eleanor was an active member of First Presbyterian Church of Franklin and served on Session as an Elder and as a Deacon. She also was an active member of the Presbyterian Women until her passing.
Her passion for sewing and quilting was evident in the numerous projects she was always working on. She was still quilting two weeks before her passing.
She enjoyed cooking her Hungarian recipes and sharing her prepared meals with others.
She loved her Bunn Road neighborhood, taking pictures, gardening and always reading.
Besides her parents, Eleanor was predeceased by her loving husband David L. Carlin on March 29, 2007; loving husband Rolland Pittenger on Feb. 5, 2015; sisters Anne Geary and Margaret (Peggy) VanDerStad; brothers-in-law Harry Geary, Edward Carlin and Douglas Kistle; sister-in law Kitty Carlin; and longtime friend Joan Romaine.
She is survived by her daughters, Judith (Carlin) Williams and her husband Jim and Lisa (Carlin) Wilmoth and her husband Jay; her stepdaughter, Cheryl Pittenger; her grandchildren, Laura (Williams) Mihatov and her husband Jesse, Jenna (Williams) Houghtaling and her husband Corey, Ashley (Wilmoth) Valone and her husband Brian, and Emily Wilmoth; her stepgrandson, Bobby Pittenger; her beloved brother, the Rev. John S. Christian of Dover; her sister-in-law, Mary Kistle of Delaware; her brother-in law, Edwin VanDerStad of Paramus; her two great-grandchildren, Andrew Michael and Lily Michaela Houghtaling; and her nieces and nephews, George Geary, Patricia Jacobs, Gina Ehrenburg, Theresa Boylan, Karen Kistle, Douglas Kistle, Donna Latteri, Barbara Sartell, and MaryAnn and John VanDerStad. She also is survived by her beloved church family at First Presbyterian Church of Franklin and her longtime childhood best friend, Eleanor Chuka Witte.
A visitation for Eleanor will be held Wednesday June 19 from 3 to 6 p.m. at F. John Ramsey Funeral Home, One Main St., Franklin. The funeral will be Thursday, June 20 at 11 a.m. at the funeral home. Burial at North Hardyston Cemetery will follow.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to First Presbyterian Church, 11-13 Main St., Franklin, NJ 07416.