Eileen Zopff

VISITATION: 9:30AM-10:30AM, Saturday, May 25, 2013 at Mason United Methodist Church


SERVICE: 10:30AM, Saturday, May 25, 2013 at Mason United Methodist Church



Eileen Elizabeth Hogan Zopff
May 29, 1930 - May 19, 2013.

Devoted wife of the late John Sabath Zopff, to whom she was married for 60 years; mother of Fredrick R. Zopff, Jane C. Zopff, Thomas M. Zopff (the late Peggy Hooker) and Ellen Zopff Todia (Dave Matthiesen). Grandmother of Christian, Patrick, Maureen, Michael and Kathleen Zopff, John and Elizabeth Todia and Jimmy and Sarah Matthiesen. Passed away Sunday, May 19, 2013 at age 82.

Eileen Elizabeth Hogan was born May 29, 1930 in Brooklyn, New York and proceeded to brighten the Staten Island home of Raymond and Irma (Niehaus) Hogan as their only child. The family moved to Cincinnati when Eileen was very young due to the Great Depression and the loss of her father's job. Her father was an amateur photographer and won many local photography contests with photos of Eileen as a child. They ended up in the Western Hills suburb of Cincinnati where Eileen was raised and attended Western Hills High School. She often told stories of Andy Williams and his brothers getting out of school to go downtown and perform live on the radio. While at Western Hills High, Eileen played piano and was an accompanist for the school's music program. She remained very close with her dear Western Hills friends and would meet them for lunch on a monthly basis until recent years. After graduation from high school, she attended the University of Cincinnati and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Technology and went on to work for Christ Hospital. She was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and met her future husband while at the University of Cincinnati.

Eileen married law student John Sabath Zopff on September 12, 1952 and they moved into a trailer in "Vetville" on the campus of the university where she supported him as he finished his law degree and studied for the bar exam. After John passed the bar exam, they moved to Mason, Ohio where he started his career and they started a family. Eileen had four children: Fred, Jane, Tom and Ellen. She was a stay-at-home mom who was always there for her children's arrival home from school, unless she was at Pogue's End of Month sale. Among the many ways she was involved with her children's lives, she was a Cub Scout Den Mother, Girl Scout Leader, volunteer school librarian, youth group leader, band parent, seamstress, knitter, crafter and cook. She raised all four kids with the love and kindness which was passed on to her and will be passed on for generations to come. A true sign of this love is the fact that each of her children will confidently tell you that they were her favorite child. Each of her 9 grandchildren will also lay claim to that title as Eileen always had the best toys at her house and something special hidden away just for them.

Eileen was a true believer in life-long learning. When faced with moving from Mason to a farm in Lebanon, she learned the art of canning produce and producing her own jams and jellies. She was awarded with blue ribbons from the Warren County Fair for her blackberry jelly. She continued to expand her own boundaries, as well as others', by participating in Qui Vive in Mason, Elderhostel programs around the country and the Chautauqua Institution in New York along with volunteering to tutor students in South Lebanon and Kings Mills. She gained skills in caning chair seats and hooking rugs. She learned how to make hand-smocked dresses for her granddaughters and knitted sweaters, blankets and over 13 Christmas stockings for her grandchildren, children and their spouses.

When time permitted, Eileen was also involved with her local community. She was a music lover, attending performances in the Linton Chamber Music series and concerts by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and coordinated the ticket sales for the symphony's annual concert series in Lebanon, Ohio. She was a member of the Warren County Republican Women, Garden Club and Lebanon Farmers Club. She was the treasurer for the Mason United Methodist Church for 20 years and sang in the church choir for many more years. Eileen and John were fierce competitors in a local duplicate bridge club and also spent several years in a square dancing club. She loved to travel domestically and abroad visiting Brazil, Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland and Great Britain.

After moving to Lebanon in 1973, she and John became members of a local dining club with three other couples and enjoyed many evenings cooking, eating and entertaining. The four couples continued their friendship through moves to Landen and back to Mason eventually ending up as close neighbors at the Otterbein community near Lebanon.

Although she has moved on to be with John and her parents, Eileen and her gentle nature and radiant smile will be missed by many friends and family.

Family will receive friends at the Mason United Methodist Church, 6315 Mason Montgomery Road, Mason, Ohio 45040 on Saturday, May 25, 2013 from 9:30AM until the time of service at 10:30AM. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra at www.cincinnatisymphony.org or the Mason United Methodist Church.