NCFMG Patient Profile: Eileen Dilley
As practitioners of family medicine, it gives us great pleasure to know our patients well. Here, with her permission, we share the story of Eileen Dilley, a beloved patient who is vibrant, positive and 102 years old!
As practitioners of family medicine, it gives us great pleasure to know our patients well. Here, with her permission, we share the story of Eileen Dilley, a beloved patient who is vibrant, positive and 102 years old!
Eileen was born in Point Loma, San Diego. Her father was a sailor from Ireland. Her mother had family roots in Portugal and Spain. Due to politics, her grandmother emigrated from Spain to Mexico and attended the University in Guadalajara. Eileen has fond memories of her childhood, walking the fields in San Diego with her sisters and picking edible mushrooms. Her parents were wonderful cooks. They could make something out of nothing.
Always hard-working and driven, at 15, she became a bookkeeper at her uncle’s ship-building company. After graduating high school in 1938, she worked for Convair, soon becoming a manager as a very young woman. It was quite an achievement. Later, a successful career in real estate allowed Eileen the self-sufficiency and financial independence that she still enjoys.
On a personal level, there have been life’s ups and downs. Feisty young Eileen married against her mother’s wishes in 1941 and divorced in 1945 at the end of the war. In 1950 she married again, happily, this time giving birth to Lisa and Duffy. When the children were in their teens, Eileen was devastated by the loss of her husband to brain cancer.
On regrets, Eileen would have loved to go to college to study business. It seems to us that she acquired all the knowledge she needed to be successful along the way. She was a woman working in business at a time when that was not the norm.
She likes to get out to walk and spends a good amount of time enjoying her garden and nature in general. She attends classes and tells us that no matter what your age, you should never stop learning. Eileen takes pride in the wisdom and positive attitude she has imparted to her children. As always, family is everything.
When asked if she is happy every day, Eileen responded, “I think so. What’s the alternative?” In her own words, she says, “God’s been good to me. I have nothing to complain about at all. He gave me the wherewithal to support my family and myself. I’m lucky. “
Eileen, what a joy to hear your story. Thank you! At North Coast Family Medical Group, we consider it a privilege to provide care and a gift to really know our patients.
