Eunice Tiller

Eunice Tiller, beloved mother of Michael, mother-in-law of Deepa and grandmother of Maya, Alisha and Raj, age 77, died on Monday, November 16th. She fought a three year battle with progressive supra nuclear palsy, a degenerative neurological disorder. She had been in Hospice care and died peacefully with her son and daughter-in-law at her bed side. Eunice was born in Brainerd Minnesota in 1943 to Ellis and Hazel Adamson and grew up in Pine River. MN. She distinguished herself as an excellent student and went on to get her bachelors degree from the University of Minnesota and her M.B.A. from the University of St. Thomas. She overcame many obstacles to build a successful career and was able to retire by age 55. Although she moved away from Pine River to go to college, she kept in close contact with her brothers and sisters and regularly attended family reunions. She loved to travel both for work and on her own time. She spent the summer of 1980 driving around the United States, with her son, visiting dozens of states and important landmarks. In total, on that trip alone they logged 12,000 miles over the course of two full months on the road. Later in life, she also traveled the world visiting India and many countries in Europe. She loved animals and almost always had a dog or cat in the house. Her last dog, Tobey, was her dedicated companion. Any time Eunice would leave the room, Tobey would follow her. Any time Eunice went for a ride in her car, Tobey would chase after her and dutifully jump in the back seat and settle in for the ride. Together, they travelled across the United States on many adventures. Eunice loved to read, watch documentaries and play with her grandchildren. Although she was born in Minnesota and lived in Texas a few times in her life, she ultimately settled in Michigan to be close to her grandchildren. They have fond memories of spending afternoons with their “Uni”, taking Tobey for walks in the park and having their grandmother cook lunch for them and watch movies together Unfortunately, COVID has been very difficult for the elderly. Not only is mortality highest among the elderly, COVID restrictions have isolated seniors from their loved ones. During her last days though, we were very lucky to be able to spend time with Mom while she was in hospice and to be there for her when she passed. Rather than have a “Zoom memorial service”, we’ve decided instead to simply delay her memorial service until COVID restrictions will be less of a burden. We are planning one last “road trip” for Eunice back to Minnesota (hopefully, next summer). Along the way, we hope to visit as many of her family as we can manage so she can spend one last moment with the family she treasured so much. To share a memory, please use the Share A Memory tab on the web page.

Eunice Tiller

January 10, 1943 - November 16, 2020