Eileen, 89, long-time resident of Elkhart, died at home Dec. 28 following a lengthy illness. Eileen was the third of four children born to Cyrus and Bertha (Flesher) Pennington in Salem, W. Va. She married Ford Nixon in 1942 and celebrated 61 years of marriage before his death in 2003. They operated Nixon Saw Service, serving numerous area mobile home manufacturers.

Eileen was a graduate of West Virginia Business College and enjoyed many interests including quilting, piano, bowling, crossword puzzles and traveling. She was involved in Cub Scouting and later Girl Scouting, where she served for 18 years, becoming President of the Indiana Lakeland Girl Scout Council from 1970 to 1978. She was proud to have played a significant part in establishing Camp Singing Hills near Bristol. Eileen was a member Riverside Bible Church since 1955 where she taught, played piano and held various offices.
She is survived by many friends (her "angels") and a sister, Helen Smith of Fieldale, VA, son Russell (Marilyn) of Waukegan, IL, daughter Judith (Garth) Richards of Carrollton, TX, three grandsons (Marek, Ethan, Blake) of Waukegan, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be Tuesday, January 1, 2013 from 4-8 pm at the Chapel Hill Funeral Home in Osceola.
Funeral services will be held at 2:00 pm Wednesday, January 2, 2013 at Chapel Hill Funeral Home with Pastor Ken Koontz presiding.

In Eileen''s memory, donations may be made to the Center for Hospice, or Riverside Bible Church.