Obituary of Pearl Eberlein

Pearl Margaret Eberlein November 1, 1929 - January 2, 2020 Pearl Margaret Eberlein, 90, of Eugene, passed away on January 2, 2020, surrounded by family. Pearl was born on November 1, 1929 in Twin Brooks, South Dakota to Casjen Reents and Elisa Schneck Reents, the third youngest and last survivor of 10 children. Pearl went to a one-room schoolhouse through the 8th grade. She graduated from Beauty School in Watertown, SD and was a hairdresser in Brookings, SD. She met her husband Alvin Eberlein on a blind date, playing cards. They were married on July 2, 1950 in Brookings, SD and honeymooned at Niagara Falls. She and Alvin lived on their farm where they had pigs, milk cows, chickens, dogs, cats, and raised wheat, corn and hay. The only heat in the house was from a cook stove. You had to walk outside across the yard to use the outhouse. Alvin eventually built an addition for the indoor bathroom. While living on the farm they built two houses in Brookings, which they rented out. Alvin died in 1958 after only 8 years of marriage, leaving Pearl a widow at 29 years old with four children to raise on her own. She never remarried. Pearl then moved the family to live in one of the rentals and eventually sold the farm. The house they lived in had a full basement that they rented to Alvin’s two youngest brothers and a friend. After they finished college and moved out, Ron had the basement to himself. Pearl and her family visited Oregon in the summer of 1960, then moved to Eugene in the summer of 1962 and rented a duplex on West 11th. In the spring of 1964 she bought a house in the North Eugene area where she made a home for her family. After her mother's death in 1967, her father, Casjen moved from Milbank SD and lived with them for several years. The house remains in the family to this day. Dwayne and Penny bought the house from Pearl in 1996 when she moved into her mobile home at Lee’s Mobile Estates. Her last year and a half was spent at Green Valley Rehabilitation Health Center where many of the staff called her “Miss Pearl”. She was a day care provider for over 35 years for many families in the area. School teachers were her favorite because then she had the summers off. Never completely retiring, she was always ready to help care for her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She owned a 1956 Chevy Bel-Air, a 1962 Chevy Biscayne, a 1969 Chevy Nova, a1972 Ford Pinto, a1980’s Chevy Spectrum and a 2000 Daewoo. She loved to travel and visited places like the Oregon Coast, the Cascades, and far away places including Alaska, Hawaii, Georgia, Florida & back home to South Dakota. Pearl was a member at Grace Lutheran and Messiah Lutheran in Eugene where she was one of the favorite Sunday School teachers and also helped with Vacation Bible School. She also attended Thurston Christian and Northwood Christian Church with her son Dwayne and his family. Along with babysitting, relatives came to her to color their hair, or have a haircut and perm. She liked walking on the beach at the Oregon coast and was very fond of lighthouses, butterflies, and growing flowers. She loved watching the Oregon Ducks, especially football and basketball. Her homes were always warm and inviting and decorated for every holiday. There was always a dog, cat, fish, or bird around to keep her company. Pearl loved crafts, sewing, painting, gardening, reading, playing cards, bingo, and listening to county western music, but not as much as she loved her family. There were countless get-togethers for holidays and birthdays. Her specialties were potato salad, strawberry dessert, layered chocolate dessert, rice krispie bars and jello jigglers. She liked giving gifts and cards, sending letters, and was very close to her sisters and brothers. She was predeceased by her husband Alvin Eberlein (1958), and granddaughter Emily (1986), and is survived by her children Ronald Eberlein (Colleen), Donna Archer (John), Marlene Meyers (Larry), Dwayne Eberlein (Penny) along with 12 grandchildren - Peter (Erin), Kathleen, Amy (Ben), Andrew, Marcus, Jeff, Jennifer (Dave), Jeremy, Sami (David), Angela (Aaron), Brandon, Steph, and 16 great grandchildren - Jack, Liriel, Shay, Caitlyn, Alyssa, Jamen, Brent, Ryan, Ella, Alex, Ben, Haily, Caity, Duke, Alexis, Allison, and Audrey. Mom, Grandma Pearl, Aunt Pearl, just plain Pearl-the name fit her well, a real precious jewel. She was a very special woman and everyone loved her. A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, January 25, 11:00 am at Northwood Christian Church, 2425 Harvest Ln, Springfield, OR. Her final resting place will be at Oak Hill Cemetery in Eugene, OR.