Wymore, Eileen L. (Buretta)

Eileen L. (Buretta) Wymore, 80, died Sunday, Oct. 17, 2010, at Crestview Acres Care Center, Marion, following a long illness. Funeral arrangements are pending with Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home.

Eileen Louise Wymore was born Jan. 4, 1930, in Fond du Lac, Wis., the daughter of Stanley J. and Mary (Kolodji) Buretta. Eileen was born to a loving Polish Catholic family, but times were hard. Her birthplace in eastern Wisconsin was a place of necessity, where her father found scarce work as a florist during the Great Depression.

During the Depression, the Burettas moved to Ottumwa, Iowa, in 1932. Eileen attended Catholic schools in Ottumwa, graduating from Ottumwa Heights Academy in 1947. Before she graduated, she met a tall young man named Roger Wymore at J.J. Newberry's dime store; they were married on Oct. 14, 1950 at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Ottumwa. The union spanned 55 years and produced six children. He preceded her in death in 2005.

She also was named 1950 princess of the Ottumwa Mardi Gras.

She then put away her small town beauty queen laurels and engaged in the humbling work of motherhood. She displayed a plaque that stated, “Once, I had six theories of child-rearing; now, I have six children, and no theories.” When her child rearing was largely complete, she returned to the work force as a secretary at Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids. In 17 years with the company, she earned her Certified Professional Secretary designation. She retired in 1995.

A woman of great vitality and beauty, she enjoyed cooking, flowers and especially her large extended family. She has enjoyed membership at St. Pius X Catholic Church since 1959 in Cedar Rapids, where the family settled after a short stay in southern California.

Surviving are her children, Michael (Jennifer) of Spokane, Wash., Gregory (Nancy) of Cedar Rapids, Randy (Kathy) of Bettendorf, Kevin (Lynne) of Madison, Wis., Patty Hacker of Grayslake, Ill., and Matthew Wymore of Cedar Rapids; plus 12 grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter.

Also surviving are her brothers, Jack Buretta and Stan Buretta, both of Ottumwa.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Pius X Parish, the Alzheimer's Association of Eastern Iowa or the Mercy Hospital Hospice Program, all in Cedar Rapids.

Please leave a message, tribute, or memory to Eileen's family on the website,

The family also extends heartfelt thanks to the staff of Crestview and to Mercy Hospice.