Eileen Ellen LaFe

Eileen Ellen Murray LaFe passed peacefully in her sleep on the morning of November 7, 2025, in Sacramento, California.

Eileen was born in Harrison, New Jersey on June 25, 1941, and was raised learning values that carried with her throughout her life - warmth, generosity, and resilience. Her beloved brother, Joe, introduced her to the man who would become her husband and father of her children, Bob LaFe. She and Bob were married on February 14, 1963, in Miami, Florida. During their 27-year marriage, she traveled extensively as Bob served in the U.S.Coast Guard. They traveled from Miami to Guam with many places in between, but New Orleans, Louisiana, and Kodiak, Alaska were two of Eileen’s favorites homes. These cities were chapters in her life full of friendship, adventure, and joy. Eileen truly created lasting friendships everywhere she went.

Before Alzheimer’s disease slowly took pieces of her memory over the past 20 years, Eileen was known for her sharp wit, love of reading, and for the way she made anyone feel instantly at home. She was the neighbor everyone loved — the mom whose house was always full of kids, laughter, and love. Even after her children were grown, Eileen continued to provide a hot meal or a warm place to stay for anyone who needed it. Eileen loved to cook, bake, can salmon, make jelly and brew homemade Kahlua coffee liquor, sharing her creations with friends across the country. She was endlessly generous and would, quite literally, give you the shirt off her back. If you ever mentioned liking something of hers, you would find yourself going home with it.

She loved to listen to country music, especially Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Toby Keith, so much so that she named her beloved dog Toby Keith. Toby became her constant companion and source of comfort for many years.

Nothing brought Eileen more pride than being a mother and grandmother. She viewed her family as her greatest accomplishment and poured her heart into raising her children and adoring her grandchildren. She was known as “Mammah” to her grandchildren and spent many years nurturing and caring for them as they grew up.

Eileen is survived by her four children — Bobby (Jody Thompson) LaFe, Lisa (Mark) Patitucci, Laura (Brian) Edmondson, and Diana (Philip) Bjorni — and by her nine grandchildren, who were the light of her life: Jacob, Jackson, Anthony, Max, Vincent, Olivia, Samuel, Sofia, and Gracie Eileen. She was preceded in death by her sisters, Ann and Ida, and her brother Joe, whom she loved dearly.

She will be remembered for her loving heart, her grace, her humor, her beauty and her immeasurable kindness. Eileen created a life centered on family, friendship, and generosity — a legacy that lives on in all who knew her.

Eileen always wanted a “good old-fashioned Irish wake” instead of a funeral. Her family will honor her wishes and hold a celebration of life at a future date to remember the joy she brought to everyone around her.

In lieu of flowers, friends can honor her memory by making a donation to the Alzheimer’s Association