Howard, Bertha Eileen.B. Eileen Howard (March 11, 1921 to October 23, 2016)Bertha Eileen Howard (called Eileen), died peacefully in hospice care on October 23, 2016 in Wallingford, Connecticut, about ten days after suffering a severe stroke. Mrs. Howard was 95 years old.Eileen Walker was born on March 11, 1921 in Drakes Branch, Virginia. She was the fourth of the five children of William and Elizabeth Walker. Raised on property owned by the Walkers on which they hunted, fished and farmed, she attended Organ Hill Elementary School through eighth grade before matriculating to and graduating from Charlotte High School in Charlotte Courthouse, VA. During those years, the family would travel to Mt. Vernon, New York during summers to visit with relatives, and Eileen and her older sisters, Grace and Catherine, would work there, as well as in New Canaan, Connecticut, where other relatives resided, as mothers' helpers, assisting with the care of small children. After Eileen graduated from high school, the family moved to Mt. Vernon, NY.Eileen attended nursing school at Lincoln Hospital School of Nursing in Durham, North Carolina, an institution for African-American students that was affiliated with Duke University. After graduating in 1945, she joined the U.S. Cadet Nursing Corps. Following one year of additional training at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, she went to work for the U.S. Public Health Service and was assigned to provide care to West Indian migrant workers laboring in the sugar cane fields of Belle Glade, Florida. There she met a young physician, Dr. Romelee A. Howard. She and Dr. Howard were married in Nassau, The Bahamas, in May 1947 while they both were working there.The Howards then moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Dr. Howard had been awarded a scholarship to obtain his Masters in Public Health from the University of Michigan Medical School. While there, Mrs. Howard gave birth to the couple's first child, Anthony, in June 1948. Later that year, Dr. Howard, having completed his graduate degree, was assigned to direct the Public Health Service's Mission in Monrovia, Liberia, and the family moved there. In 1950, Mrs. Howard and their son returned temporarily to the United States, and she gave birth to the couple's second child, Karen, in December 1950. Dr. Howard completed his obligation to the Public Health Service in 1952, and the family moved back to the United States, settling in Mt. Vernon, NY. While Dr. Howard opened a private practice in family medicine in the Bronx, NY, Mrs. Howard stopped working temporarily in order to raise the family, including Cynthia, born in 1952, and Theodore, born in 1956. During this time period, the family moved to a new home in New Rochelle, NY. In New Rochelle, Mrs. Howard, while raising her children, became active in the local branch of the NAACP, which was engaged at that time in efforts to desegregate the local public school system. She also participated in the New Rochelle Garden Club and several bridge clubs. In 1960, Dr. and Mrs. Howard and their two oldest children took a one-month trip to Europe, during which they attended the Rome Olympic Games and the Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany.In 1964, the Howards moved to New Canaan, CT. In 1968, as the youngest child, Ted, reached the last years of elementary school, Mrs. Howard resumed work on a part-time basis as a general practice nurse at the Norwalk Hospital in nearby Norwalk, CT. She returned to work fulltime in 1970 as a nurse on the psychiatric unit of the Hospital. She advanced to Head Nurse of that unit by 1978 and served in that position until her retirement in 1988. Throughout this time period, as well as thereafter, Mrs. Howard was a prolific gardener, growing flowers and vegetables in the back yard of the family home. She also became active in the leadership of the Fairfield County Urban League as well as the LINKS, a professional black women's civic organization. In addition, she and Dr. Howard were active parishioners at St. Aloysius R.C. Church in New Canaan, and Mrs. Howard served for several terms as the appointed representative of Bishop Timothy Dolan to the U.S. Bishop's Advisory Council on behalf of the Diocese of Bridgeport.The Howards purchased a home on Nantucket Island, off the coast of Massachusetts, in 1984 and, a few years after Dr. Howard's retirement following 55 years of medical practice in 1996, they moved to the Island on a fulltime basis, where they became active participants in the Parish of St. Mary's, Our Lady of the Isle R.C. Church. Surrounded by friends and family, Dr. and Mrs. Howard celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1997. They resided together on Nantucket, often welcoming visiting children and grandchildren, through November 2011, when Dr. Howard passed away at 100 years of age. Mrs. Howard continued to reside on Nantucket until August 2016.Mrs. Howard was predeceased by all four of her siblings, as well as by her oldest son, R. Anthony Howard, Jr. and many of her and Dr. Howard's relatives and close friends. She is survived by her remaining children, Dr. Karen Brody of Fairfield, CT., Cynthia (David) Payne, Esq. of Oxford, CT, and Theodore (Judith) Howard, Esq. of McLean, VA, as well as six adult grandchildren.A private service and burial will take place in New Canaan, CT on October 28, 2016. For on line condolences please visit www.hoytfuneralhome.com