Eva P. Brobst

EVA PEARL BROBST

Eva Pearl ( Mausteller) Brobst, age 90, formerly of 428 W. Ninth Street, Bloomsburg, died at 10:15 a. m. Thursday, March 11, 2010 at the York Lutheran Retirement Village, York where she resided for five years.

Born on May 19, 1919 in Hemlock Township on the Mausteller family farm, she was the only child of the late Harry Parvin and Nettie May (Brobst) Mausteller.

She acquired her education at the Buckhorn Public School and graduated from Bloomsburg High School in 1937. During her school years, she prepared herself for a secretarial career, which she engaged in all of her professional life.

Eva was employed by Bloomsburg Mills and People's Furniture Store, later Hoover's Furniture Store. For 19 years she was employed by the former Hidlay Oil Co. as well as the former Bloomsburg Steam Co. For two years immediately before her retirement, she was employed in the office of Institutional Advancement at Bloomsburg University.

Her most adventurous step occured during World War II when she left the security of her parents home to follow her soldier husband to Washington, D.C. For two years, she was a city girl, taking in the sights while working for the Army's Department of Recreation. Always the devoted daughter, she wrote a postcard to her parents every day. Those cards are now preserved in her own daughters postcard collection. When her husband was sent Europe to fight, she returned to her parents home and resumed her career in Bloomsburg.

Following the war, she and her husband Jake, as he was known to his friends, built a bungelow and started a family of their own. Daughter Bonnie was born in 1947 and son Bill in 1951.

Recognizing the importance of being a "stay at home mom", she became a fulltime mother and wife until both children were in school. Her children recall a practically ideal childhood with family vacations, picnics, music lessions, storytime, homework help, good food, and a hearty dose of love, positive values, and a strong work ethic.

During her retirement years, Eva and her husband traveled extensively throughout the United States and spent part of the year at their homes in Florida and Rehobeth Beach, Delaware.

Eva was an avid gardener and was famous for the delicious pies she baked. She also played the piano and sewed.

A longtime member of Wesley United Methodist Church, she was a regular attendee of both Sunday School and worship. Church was an important part of her life and she particiapted in various activities. She also belonged to the Bloomsburg Business & Professional Women's Club.

Eva will be remembered for her beautiful smile and kind deeds for family, neighbors, friends and animals.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 65 years, Charles Jacob Brobst, whom she married on Christmas eve in 1938. He died on Dec. 8, 2003.

Surviving are her daughter, Bonnie Ann Brobst, wife of Rev. Dr. Eric W. Gritsch, Baltimore, Md., where she is principal of an alternative school for at- risk youth; and a son, William Charles Brobst, former long-standing town council member of Bloomsburg.

Funeral services will be held on Wednesday at 11 a. m. in the Dean W. Kriner, Inc., Funeral Home & Cremation Service, 325 Market Street, Bloomsburg, with her son-in-law, Rev. Dr. Eric W. Gritsch officiating. Interment in Columbia Hill Cemetery.

Relatives and friends are invited to visit with the family on Wednesday from 10 -11 a. m.

The family will provide flowers. Memorials may be sent to Wesley United Methodist Church, 130 W. Third Street, Bloomsburg or to the Bloomsburg Public Library, 225 Market Street, Bloomsburg, PA 17815.