Evelyn Fellinger

Evelyn Fellinger, 91, earned her angel wings and peacefully passed away on Oct. 15, 2015 in Sugar Land, TX. Born Feb. 8, 1924 in Dunkirk, NY to parents Casimir & Mary Paprocki (Fern). She married Robert Fellinger on Jan. 12, 1946. Evelyn lived in Dunkirk for 84 years until moving to Texas 7 years ago to be near her family.

As a young girl, Evelyn grew up on the shores of Lake Erie and spent a large part of her youth swimming, sun bathing or walking along the shoreline for relaxation. A 1941 graduate of Dunkirk High School, she went to work for Van Raalte as a seamstress & proudly worked there during the War years of 19411945 producing military goods for the war effort.

Evelyn & Bob started their family with their first born son, Ted, in Oct. 1946 followed by Andrew in Dec. 1948. She took some time off to be a “stay at home Mom” before the term was fashionable. It was just what folks did. She eventually went back to Van Raalte and worked there until the plant closed. Evelyn formed many lifelong friendships with her coworkers. The majority of the former Van Raalte workers found employment with M. Wile producing a line of clothing for Johnny Carson. She remained there until she retired at the age of 62.

Bob & Evelyn enjoyed the companionship of two basset hounds over the years. The most notorious was Charlie Brown dubbed the “burgling basset”. He scoured the neighborhood and brought home most anything that was not nailed down. This included baseball bats, gloves & hats. They always returned the items to the rightful owner. “A.T.” was their last basset hound from 1994 until 2006. If anything dropped on the kitchen floor, it belonged to A.T., did not think of going for it until he walked away.

In retirement, she enjoyed playing cards & bingo…especially if she could win. She also enjoyed her 2 granddaughters from Houston, TX (Abby & Carrie) who visited with her & Bob many summers. She took the girls to Lake Erie, the County Fair & other local attractions. She did her best to be a good Grandma & not spoil them too much. Her 91 years allowed her to see her granddaughters mature into successful young women knowing that she helped along the way.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert (Bob) Fellinger in 1994, her parents and all of her siblings: Edmund Fern, Joseph Fern, Marie Roman, Genevive Fern, Rita Kaus, Audrey Ransom, Infant brother, Daniel.

She is survived by Ted (Barbara) Fellinger and their daughters, Abby Fellinger & Carrie Cumming, Andrew Fellinger and Ana Arizmendi. She is also survived by one great-grandson, Reece Cumming and a host of life-long friends in Dunkirk, including, but not limited to, Rita Gestwicki & Stella Michalak.

Another member of “The Greatest Generation” has slipped away from us. Like so many from her generation, she dutifully did her part and seldom complained. Evelyn was a Sister, Spouse, Mother, Grandmother, Aunt and Friend. Hopefully there is a bingo hall in heaven and they call her numbers today.

Funeral arrangements and a memorial service to commemorate a life well-lived are being handled by Sugar Land Mortuary. Memorial Service scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015 at 2:00 PM. Friends and Family invited to attend.

In lieu of flowers, a donation in her honor to the dedicated staff of The Silverado, who took loving care of her in her final years, would be greatly appreciated. The Silverado, 1221 Seventh St., Sugar Land, TX 77478.