Eleanor Horlbeck Obituary

Eleanor Greene Horlbeck WADMALAW ISLAND - Eleanor ("Ellie") Greene Horlbeck, 94, loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend, passed away peacefully, surrounded by her children, at home on Wadmalaw Island Sunday, April 27, 2025. Beloved and devoted wife for 70 years to Frederick Henry Horlbeck, Jr. of Charleston, who predeceased her in 2023, Ellie was born in Hanover, New Hampshire August 24, 1930 to Dartmouth professor Ernest Roy Greene and Marion Hamblet Greene. Ellie lived a life dedicated to her family and friends and was known to all for her grace, love, kindness, and endlessly welcoming spirit. She had a gift for warmly making others feel welcome, and her home was always a haven for gatherings and celebrations of family and friends. Ellie relished time spent with others and visits were filled with laughter, love, delicious food and always a few Labrador retrievers. In 1952, Ellie obtained her B.A. from Pembroke College of Brown University, where she met and married the love of her life. In the years that followed, Ellie adored travels near and far - exploring nearby beaches and mountains, cruising throughout the Bahamas, visiting family and friends across the country, and participating in a family wedding in India. Her interest in the world extended deeply to her family. Throughout her life, Ellie showed unwavering interest in and support of the lives and interests of her children and grandchildren; even in her final days, she expressed curiosity and excitement about the recent travels taken by several of them to Europe and Asia and anticipated with joy the arrival of her second great-granddaughter. Ellie Horlbeck is survived by three daughters, Barbara E. Horlbeck (�John I. Norton III), Joan E. Horlbeck, and Eleanor Horlbeck Thompson (R. Kirk Thompson III); five granddaughters, Caitlin V. Ryan-Norton, Eleanor Y. Norton, Katherine A. Thompson (Dale Kim), Jill A. Thompson (fiance; Chad L. DiCristina), Tracy A. Thompson; and a great-granddaughter, Olivia A. Kim. Additionally, she is survived by her sister, Katherine Greene Lewis, and numerous, loving nieces, nephews and their children. Her life will be celebrated on August 30, 2025 at 11 a.m. at a memorial service at Grace Chapel in Rockville on Wadmalaw Island. In lieu of flowers, the family invites you to make a donation in the name Ellie Horlbeck to the Lowcountry Land Trust (www.lowcountrylandtrust.org), an organization dedicated to protecting the Lowcountry's unique land and waters that she adored.