Sylvia Anne (Kerivan) Eckberg
January 5, 1953 ~ April 26, 2007
Eckberg, Sylvia Anne (Kerivan), age 54, retired teacher, died Thursday, April 26, 2007. Rosary will be held at All Saints Catholic Church, 3205 Grand, Wichita, on Sunday April 29 at 7:00 P.M. Funeral Mass will be held at All Saints on Monday, April 30 at 10:00 A.M. Sylvia was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother and friend. She was born January 5, 1953 in Lynn, MA and married December 29, 1973. “Mrs. E” was a devoted teacher at Christ the King Catholic School for 16 years before her retirement in 2002. Preceded in death by her mother, Bonnie (Bean) Kerivan. Sylvia is survived by her husband of 33 years, Tim, two sons, Brian (Amy) of Cleveland, OH and David of Kansas City, MO. Survived also by her father, James P. Kerivan of Wichita, her three brothers, William Kerivan (Donna) of Fairfax Station, VA, John Kerivan (Diane) of Westford, MA and James P. Kerivan, Jr. (Cheryl) of Paradise Valley, AZ. Sylvia was grandmother to Joel, Luke and Rachel. A memorial has been established with Christ the King School, in memory of Sylvia Eckberg, 4501 W. Maple, Wichita, KS, 67209. Downing Lahey Mortuary East.
Rosary will be held at All Saints Catholic Church, 3205 Grand, Wichita, on Sunday April 29 at 7:00 P.M.
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Please accept our deepest condolences for your family’s loss.
I will always miss Aunt Sylv. One of my greatest memories is when on my birthday every year, we would go to the Mcdonalds Playplace. Even last year though we brought my niece so we’d have someone small enough to get us in to play. I will miss when we used to go to her house, and I would get the same thing everytime, Starbursts or Skittles from under their bed and a pop from their fridge. She never forgot a birthday and was at our house for pretty much all holidays, from Christmas to Halloween. I will miss her so much.
Years and years ago, Mrs.E not only taught me the ‘long division rap’, and the funtion of congunctions, she taught me so much more about life. I was just a kid when our lives crossed, and now I’m old enough to hopefully teach my children some of the priceless lessons that she taught me. Because of her,I’m forever changed for the better. She will be missed but never ever forgotten.
‘Fun and a wonderful smile’ are words that are synonymous with Sylvia. You will be forever missed. Friends from Carroll. The Hund sisters (Ruth Ann Timmermeyer and Karen Perkins)
We wanted to express our deepest sympathy to the family of Sylvia Eckberg. Her son Brian was very close to my brother Jason, therefore, also very close to me. We have several memories of her but the one that comes to mind the most is how much she loved being around all the young children. She was a very loving, caring person. It didn’t matter whether they were her children and grandchildren or someone elses children and grandchildren. She was ‘mom’ and ‘grandma’ to all. Now she can watch over all the lives she touched with the rest of God’s Angels. All our love, The Sykes – Sarah, John, Charlotte and Jacob
Mr. E, Brian and David, My condolences to you and the rest of you family. Mrs E was an important person in my life. I am sad to say that I did not come by and see her after the diagnosis. As all of you know she meant a great deal to my family and my own mother. I can remember all the times coming over and hanging out and the few times getting in trouble over at your house. Sometimes I sat back in school work and remember things that would come to mind from her class when I was a student. I can’t ever forget the times she did her Boston accent for us and told about ‘Parking the car at Harvard yard’ or ‘the bubbla’. I think about phrase of all was ‘Tommy La Sorta and I are gonna loose weight together’ all the time. I can even remember the videos and songs from ‘Conjunction what’s your function?’ or ‘I am just a bill on capitol hill.’ Mrs. E I can go on for hours on how you affected my life and how much you still mean to me. Nothing will take that away from anyone of us and how you touched our lives. You will remain in my heart forever and we will be able to see each other in Heaven. I figure when I get up there you can make us do situps to get us into shape to pay attention in class. I will miss you Mrs. E and remember you forever. Your friend and student in life and class Adam R. Medlam
Tim, Brian & David, Our deepest sympathies on your lose of a wonderful wife and great mother. Sylvia, what pleasant and wonderful memories you bring to mind. The whist games we played at my kitchen table, and how you would tell Walt to stop being a kitty hawk. The countless times you came with us to see Walt’s games. We all missed you when you moved out to Kansas. I will always remember you as a lovely, bubbly young girl. Rest in peace Sylvia – you were 1 in a million.
My most vivid memories of aunt sylve were when once every summer i would help her get her classroom ready for the next school year, my reward for my work… a meal at mcdonalds, something only a 12 year old really understands the value of. I always knew if we were going to aunt sylve’s house that meant we would have all the candy, ice cream and pop we could fit into our system because mom and dad never had ‘good food.’ Even up until the last time i saw her, spring break ’07, this remained true as i sprawled myself out on her bed with a bag of oreos. I remember that last time i saw her she said to me ‘hey someone just had a birthday,’ and handed me $20. She never forgot my birthday. When I was little I was writing a thank you for my christmas present from Aunt Sylve and Uncle Tim, and accidently wrote ‘Anutie Sylve,’ so spawned a new nick name ‘A-nutie Sylvia.’ My prayers go out to Dave, Brian and Tim… I will miss her so much!
Who knew a long division lesson could be so much fun it would be remembered for a lifetime? ‘We’re Mrs. E’s and we’re on the scene with our division rap and it’s truly mean. It goes divide, multiply, subtract, and bring down. Divide multiply, subtract, and bring down.’ Mrs. E not only made learning fun, but she made it magical. From Being Unusually Good to pirates walking the plank, pizza, bagels, fungus, reading after lunch, journals, spelling bee, TV Busters, and so much more 5th grade was a wonderful year. Mrs. E you are an inspiring woman, and we will always love you. Thank you for everything you taught me. I know you are singing and dancing in heaven and smiling down upon us.
Sylvia; What a great ride! Thank you for being a friend for life, you were always there for the group, and we all love you so. God….just to let you know, there is a new sheriff in town/heaven now….
There never was and never will be another Sylvia. Second only to my mother, she is the woman who made the biggest impact upon who I am as a person. We are all heart-sick and so very sad not to have her with us here on earth. But there is no doubt in my mind that she is in a much better place, where the horrible disease she had can no longer make her suffer. I will never stop missing or loving you my dear friend, but I know you are with me now more then ever before. No one will ever mean what you mean to me.
‘SYLVIA’S SMILE’ – Although I haven’t seen Sylvia for many years now, we were able to email for a long time and it was a wonderful gift to ‘stay connected’. She was only 5 years old when I first saw that beautiful smiling face – and it’s never changed through all this time! Our families were very close during their ‘Massachusetts years’ and we were able to make several visits to Wichita to further enjoy the wonderful lady she had become, and to meet her ‘one-in-a-million’ Tim, and later her great sons! Her beloved mother Bonnie kept me updated with news and photos of each grandchild! She was so proud of how Sylvia still smiled through all the tears and heartache of the dreadful illness that has taken her at such a young age! God surely has a beautiful new Angel in heaven, and I envision her and Bonnie – side by side -with those special smiles…They will live in our hearts forever!!
Tim, Brian, Dave, Jimmy and family, I lost my best friend, sister-in-law, and partner in ‘crime’ and I will miss her so. But I guess we really lost her a while ago as this horrible disease took all fun from her life and we all know she was all about fun and making life more fun and full for all of us. She would want us to cry– maybe a little– and then to ‘never miss an opportunity to have fun.’ My corner of the world has changed forever…but the legacy that she has left and the lessons that I learned are invaluable. I love you guys. We’ll carry on because she would want us to!