Obituaries
Joseph L. Eckenrode, M.D.
On Christmas Day, Dr. Joseph Lewis Eckenrode died at Lancaster Regional Medical Center after a one-week illness.
Born in Lancaster, June 5, 1919, he was the son of John W. and Kathryn Griffitts Eckenrode.
After attending St. Mary’s parochial school, he graduated as salutatorian from Lancaster Catholic High. In 1941 he received a bachelor’s degree cum laude from Georgetown University and entered the University’s medical school in the fall of that year. With training accelerated due to World War II, Dr. Eckenrode was commissioned as a naval officer during medical school and received his degree in 1944 following an internship in Washington DC. He was drafted by the Army and served a brief time before being discharged in August, 1945. During the Korean War, Dr. Eckenrode was again commissioned as an officer in the Navy and was assigned to the Philadelphia Naval Yard.
After a residency at St. Joseph’s hospital, Dr. Eckenrode began his practice in 1946, with his first office on East King St., from which he moved to 834 Marietta Avenue, where he continued to see patients as a general practitioner until 1991. During this 45-year period he was an active member of Saint Joseph hospital’s medical staff, serving in many capacities, including president. In 1965 Dr. Eckenrode was elected Lancaster County coroner, an office he held until 1969. In addition to his private practice, Dr. Eckenrode was on the medical staff of Conestoga View nursing home, acting for a number of years as director of the medical staff. As a member, Dr. Eckenrode assisted in publicizing the Lancaster County Medical Society, for which he researched and wrote historical vignettes.
Throughout his professional life, Dr. Eckenrode donated medical care to students of all the Catholic schools in Lancaster city as well as to the faculty, especially the nuns of the Lancaster deanery, and later to the Dominican Sisters of the Perpetual Rosary. He was also in the fifties and sixties the football team doctor at Lancaster Catholic High, which in 2011 honored him with the school’s Alumni Citation for Outstanding Professional Achievement. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus, a parishioner of St. Anthony’s parish, and also worshipped at the chapel of Lancaster Regional Medical Center. A Man of Malvern, he was saluted in 2007 as a 50-year attendee of the Palm Sunday weekend retreat.
Since 1957, Dr. Eckenrode supported the activities of the Lancaster Kiwanis Club. He also worked as a volunteer with United Disabilities, with the local Special Olympics, and was on the board of Sylvan Retreat Apartments. On numerous occasions he presented travelogues at the Fulton theater, and in recent years volunteered at Evergreen Estates.
He owned a cabin in Sullivan County, which, as a skilled carpenter, Dr. Eckenrode did much to improve. He was a hunter, mostly of uncooperative deer and turkeys. Beginning as a child on his father’s clay court, he played tennis with family and friends until the age of 90 and spent other leisure time following the Phillies and 76ers, usually with modest expectations.
He is survived by his wife, Nancy S. Eckenrode, by two sons, Joseph L., Jr., husband of Mary Kay, and George K., husband of Candace, and by two daughters, Mary, wife of Dr. Robert Gibson, Charlottesville, Va. and Eileen, wife of William Vroom, Purcellville, Va., along with 12 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren. Two siblings also survive, Virginia Metzger of Lancaster and Betty Shammas of Pacific Grove, California.
Thanks are due to Dr. Robert Shulz, the staff of the Lancaster Regional Medical Center, and ICU nurse Maureen, for their diligent and thoughtful care.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, 501 E. Orange St., Lancaster, PA on Saturday, Dec. 29 at 11AM, with Rev. Daniel Mitzel as Celebrant. A viewing will be held at the church from 9:45 until 11AM. Interment will be at St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery. Persons wishing to honor the memory of Dr. Eckenrode are asked to send a memorial contribution to the Water Street Rescue Mission, 210 S. Prince St., Lancaster. To send an online condolence, please visit SnyderFuneralHome.com. Charles F. Snyder Funeral Home & Crematory 393-9661
Leave a condolence on this Memorial Page
Dear Nancy, we send our deepest condolences to you and your entire family. My wife and I could not have had better next door neighbors. We will miss Joe but will take solace in having fond memories of him. You and Joe were so much more then neighbors to us. You were like grandparents to our two children; never forgetting their birthdays and special occasions with cards and gifts. My children will never forget the loved you showed them. We are grateful to have been part of your family. I have a memory etched in my mind I will never take for granted thanks to Joe. He always made time for family, it did not matter what he was doing or what he may have been involved in. He never missed a phone call from his sister. Many times she called during a Phillies game and it did not matter what the score was! I have a smile on my face when thinking of Joe with our dog Abby. He enjoyed watching her chase the bunnies and squirrels in his yard. Just this past fall she cornered a mouse in his front yard, he couldn’t believe how fast she moved for an old dog. We just stood there and laughed. We are sad with the loss of Joe but know he lived a good life, an abundant life. A life many of us aspire to have. Again we send our sympathies to you Nancy and will pray for your family.
With Love,
Joe, Dawn, Amanda, and David Forte
Dear Family, Please accept my deepest sympathy. You must be so proud of all Joe’s accomplishments. What a great man. I had the privilege of being on the committee that chose him for the LCHS Alumni Citation Award. He will always be remembered at the School for his kindness, volunteer work and generosity. May God rest his soul and be with all of you.
Mary Anne Aichele
Dear Mary and Family, I was so very sorry to read of your Dads’ passing. Please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers … Love, Cindy Schlegelmilch
To all of Dr. Eckenrode’s family,
My mother, Lila Echterling, and I are so sad to learn of Dr. Eckenrode’s passing. Our hearts are heavy and our eyes filled with tears. We know, however, how fortunate we have been to have been in his presence all these years. He was our physician and friend. My father, Joseph Echterling, loved him as well. My mother called him a couple of years ago after missing him so terribly. They had a wonderful reunion, which my mother cherished with all of her soul. We hope that you can take comfort in knowing that all of the many people he touched, in Lancaster and elsewhere, are celebrating having known him. We will miss him.
Jane Echterling and Lila Echterling
Suneel and I send our love to all of the Eckenrode family.
Kay Dixon Jaitly
Dear Nancy and Eckenrode family,
I was so sorry to hear of Dr. Eckenrode’s passing. What a wonderful blessing he was to the residents and staff at Conestoga View! He was a GREAT man and a caring compassionate physician. His life and practice of medicine should be a shining example to everyone in the medical field. My prayers are with you all.
Beth Schultz
To all the Eckenrodes:
I will remember Dr. Joe with fondness and joy. He was such a vital man all his life. I remember seeing him at Aunt Mary’s memorial service and marveling at how upbeat he was, remembering so many details of her life. I hope I am 3/4 as compos if I ever reach his age!
He was our family doctor for many years and always had a straight forward approach to healthcare. Would that we could have many more such in today’s confusing health care wilderness!
I also remember the Buck and Doe lodge near Eaglesmere. It was a great place for Mary and I to explore, wade in the Loyalsock and enjoy Dr. Joe’s company along with each other’s
I mourn for the loss of such a vital spirit in the world, but I have no doubt that he will be giving practical advice upstairs, and chuckling at our pretensions down here.
Love,
Connie Duval
Betty and Ginny, Nancy, Children, Grandchildren and all Relatives,
On behalf of the Richard Bucher family, Bernice Bucher, Carmie, and my Bucher cousins, we are so sad to share your loss. We think of Joe as steadfast in his friendship with our Dad and ever encouraging to us. When I lived up in Milton and Bill in Muncy we had fun trips to the cabin like the rest of you! And when my father was ill, your Joe was just a phone call away to discuss situations and lend a hand. Our home is still filled with Dad’s photos of Joe.
My Dad counted on him thruout life. Now I hope they greet each other again to go out on adventures, pickup a road, raise a glass, tell a story, shake their heads, and confide in each other as they did over many decades.
We will miss Joe so much and remain so grateful for his help and friendship.
With love,
Julie Bucher
Dear Family, I wish to send my deepest sympathy on the passing of the beloved Dr.E. As a much youger nurse at Conestoga View Dr.E was loved and respected by the staff,the residents and their families. He always had a smile on his face it was easy to see that he truly loved what he did best,caring for his patients. He was always very generois to the nursing staff at Christmas ,he will be deeply missed by those of us whom had the priviledge of working with him. May you all be sustained by your special memories.
Sincerely
Barbara {Boyle} Dohan R.N.
Dear Family,My thoughts and prayers are with you all.What a great and thoughtful man your husband and father was.I knew him my whole life you could say,as he was the one who delivered me.I never feared going to the Drs.,because I liked my Dr.he made it easy.I saw you both over the years at a restaurant,and it just blessed me so to see him again.Thank you for sharing him with so many people over the years.Bless you all.
Thoughtfully
Kris Hebensberger
My deepest sympathies to the family of Dr. Eckenrode, I worked with Dr. Eckenrode for many years when I first started out in nursing, he was a very kind,gentle man and a wonderful teacher, they just dont make physicians like him anymore. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him. God Bless you, Dr. Eckenrode.
Lori Hagen
Dear Nancy
I am sorry to see the passing of your husband. I worked as your unit clerk on the 5th floor at Conestoga View many years ago and repected you and Dr. Eckenrode very much!!! My prayers are with you during this difficult time in you life. May God heal you and keep you strong.
Patricia Blank
Dear Mary and family,
What a lovely father you had! I am so sorry to hear the news of his passing. Dr Joe was a wonderful inspiration to all of us–with his great sense of humor, easy laughter, encouraging attitude, kind ways, and his spirit of adventure. He is a man, who will easily be remembered with great fondness and affection by all who knew him. We were fortunate to have him in Lancaster! You were blessed to call him your ‘dad.’ I pray for your peace at this difficult time. You know he is in a much better place. Sorrow lasts for a season, but joy will return as you remember his life so well-lived and his great love for all of you. My condolences also to Nancy, Joe, George, and Eileen.
Blessings and peace,
Jill Joyce Becker
" A lifelong friend" was how my Dad referred to him. A great guy, always had time for everyone. His hunting camp was famous for a warm fire, cold drinks, old friends and buck stories. We all are so grateful to have known him.
Our deepest sympathies,
Dennis J. Bucher
