Eileen Marcella Bosch McCulley

Eileen McCulley

CHAMPAIGN — Eileen Marcella Bosch McCulley, 92, of Champaign died Friday (Feb. 28, 2020) at home in the company of family members.

The family will receive friends at the Owens Funeral Home, 101 N. Elm St., Champaign, from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 4, 2020. The rosary will be recited at 3:30. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Monsignor Stanley Depula at 10 a.m. Thursday, March 5, 2020, at St. Matthew Catholic Church, 1303 Lincolnshire Drive, Champaign. Burial will follow the Mass at Roselawn Cemetery, Champaign. Family and friends are invited to attend a funeral luncheon at St. Matthew’s in Feeney Hall after the interment.

Mrs. McCulley, the second child of Edward Joseph and Isabelle Adelaide Best Bosch, was born Oct. 30, 1927, at the family farm in Broadlands. She attended elementary school in Broadlands and graduated from Broadlands High School in 1945.

Following graduation, she worked in the University of Illinois accounting office, where she met her future husband, Delbert E. McCulley, a World War II Army veteran and recent University of Illinois graduate. They married on June 16, 1951, at Immaculate Conception Church in Bongard. He died in 2013. They were married for 61 years.

Mrs. McCulley is survived by her daughters, Pamela (Joseph Sr.) Rank of Urbana, Teresa (Mark) Lacerenza of Wilmington, Ohio, Dorothy Slavik of Champaign and Della (James) Runyan of Champaign; 12 grandchildren, William (Christie) Rank of Oak Forest, Anthony (Jayme) Lacerenza of Hartville, Ohio, Joseph Jr. (Stephanie) Rank of Champaign, Christopher (Cara) Lacerenza of Hoover, Ala., Robert (Lisa) Rank of Evergreen Park, Stephanie Rank of Chicago, Jason (Sarah) Lacerenza of Cincinnati, Ohio, Andrea Lacerenza of Wilmington, Ohio, Megan Slavik of Champaign, Kevin Runyan of Springfield, Scott Runyan of Champaign and Amanda Runyan of Champaign; and 16 great-grandchildren.

Also surviving are her brothers and sisters, Edward (Marianna) Bosch of Longview, Tony (Mary Ellen) Bosch of Longview, Harold Bosch of Tuscola, Dorothy (Don) Happ of Philo, Monica Barham of Champaign, Carl (Marsha) Bosch of Georgetown and Dennis (Regina) Bosch of Newman.

She was preceded in death by her parents; infant sister, Rosemary; husband; son-in-law, Emery Slavik; brother-inlaw, Ken Barham; and sister- in-law, Nancy Bosch.

She retired from the University of Illinois in 1990 from the Department of Environmental Studies.

She was among the founding families of St. Matthew Catholic Church and was active in the St. Matthew School PTA and a dedicated volunteer in the parish office, at funeral luncheons and at the annual parish garage sale. She was a devoted mother, grandmother and great-grandmother whose kitchen was the focal point for frequent family gatherings. For 57 years, she never missed the annual Bosch Family Hot Dog Roast held at one of the family farms on the last Sunday of October, at which, among other important milestones, her extended family celebrated her birthday.

The family suggests memorial contributions be made to St. Matthew Church or the charity of one’s choice. Condolences may be offered online at owensfuneralhomes.com.