Eleanor Lamos

Eleanor Lamos was a loving wife, mother, sister, grandmother and great-grandmother. She treasured the time she spent with her growing family and enjoyed the company of each and every one of them. Her passion for people was obvious in her gentle way of always speaking with kindness and never holding any bitterness in her heart. Her loving presence and tender ways will be dearly missed and fondly remembered.

Reflecting on the 1920’s, it was a period of sustained economic prosperity with a distinctive cultural edge. Radio stations were growing in popularity throughout the US, and the media was focused on jazz music and celebrities. In the same year that Charles Lindbergh completed the first solo flight across the Atlantic, the Great Mississippi Flood occurred, The Jazz Singer opened ending the era of silent movies, and work began on the sculpture of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln carved into Mount Rushmore, Samuel and Mary Bzduch welcomed their newborn daughter, Eleanor, into their hearts on January 14, 1927 in Chicago, Illinois. Her birth brought them great joy.

Growing up in Chicago, Eleanor often helped out at her parent’s grocery store. After her father died when she was at the tender age of eleven, she and her sister, Dorothy were raised by their mother. Eleanor attended local schools and had a typical childhood of the times. She was very successful in her studies and even went on to obtain her Bachelors degree from Northwestern University. During this time, she met the man of her dreams, Milo Lamos. They met at a Slovak social club known as Sokol . Eager to spend the rest of their lives together, they married in a beautiful ceremony in 1949. Together they raised three wonderful and very successful sons; Mark, Chris, and David.

With a strong work ethic and desire to use her education, she started her teaching career in Benton Harbor, Michigan teaching at the local community college in the evenings. Moving to the greater Detroit area, she started substituting for several years before securing a full-time position at Dunckel Middle School in Farmington Hills, Michigan in 1968. During this time, Eleanor obtained her Masters Degree from Michigan State University and soon after began working on her PhD, yet never finished when her teaching career and life as a young mother became too demanding. Eventually moving from the middle school to the high school, she found her true passion; teaching English and Literature. Once when playing a Bingo review game with her students about the famous Shakespearean play, Romeo and Juliet, her principal was so impressed by her teaching methods, he bought the winning student a treat from the school store! Always well liked by her students, she remained successfully employed with Farmington High school teaching English until her retirement in 1992.

Eleanor embraced her role as a mother. A natural nurturer, she was very much involved in her boys’ activities. There wasn’t much she wouldn’t do to make certain every experience was successful. As a young family, they enjoyed annual vacations to Round Lake, Illinois. A memorable family trip was back in 1974 when they journeyed through parts of Europe. Eleanor was happy to share her family’s history by taking the boys to visit the family homestead where her mother, who has the oldest of twelve children, had grown up before moving to the United States in 1910. As the boys grew and eventually moved away from their Michigan roots, she and Milo continued on their travels by taking several trips each year to both Maryland and Florida.

Eleanor had a genuine love for all people. She never held a grudge and looked for the good in others. She had a special kind of patience that only those who spend a lifelong career teaching teenagers and at the same time came home to three mischievous teenage sons of her own! When she managed any time to relax, she loved to read both People and Parade Magazines from cover to cover! She treasured her time with her grandchildren and loved to watch wholesome family TV shows with them. With the birth of each new great-grandchild, she eagerly stepped in to cook, clean, and ensure that they were off to a good start. Eleanor’s legacy is filled with many memorable moments with her family. Her positive outlook on any situation, her compassionate way of being, and her good-natured personality will be deeply missed by all those who knew and loved her.

Eleanor Lamos, age 90, passed away peacefully April 1, 2017. Beloved wife of the late Milo. Loving mother of Mark A. (Christine) M.D., Chris (Waynette), David M (Adelina) Esq. and Jarmila Zemla. Dearest grandmother of Elizabeth (Benjamin) Butterwei, Jennifer (Jack) Congdon, Jason, Julie, Michael and Connie. Cherished great-grandmother of Benjamin, Jacob, Henry, Grayson and William. Beloved angel Liliana Cuteon Raimer. Family will receive friends Monday, 2-8 pm at the Neely-Turowski Life Story Funeral Home 45100 Warren Road (between Sheldon and Canton Center Rds), where a funeral service will be held at 8 PM. www.TurowskiLifesStory.com