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Eleanor Ann Simchock Butler, 78, of Chester passed away peacefully on the evening of Nov. 16, 2020, at Connecticut Hospice after a six-month battle with cancer.

Eleanor was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania to Angeline and Peter Simchock. She is survived by her brother Robert Simchock and his wife Jenny, of Durham, North Carolina.

She graduated from Conemaugh Township High School and Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Eleanor was a beloved classroom teacher for six years before she embarked on a successful career with IBM, traveling extensively throughout Asia.

Known for her quick wit, humor, and free and independent spirit, Eleanor appreciated good conversation and reading the classics. She loved studying art, philosophy, and literature. Eleanor retired to Chester and enjoyed sailing and gardening. She is remembered by her family and friends for her wonderful laugh, her intelligence, her genuineness, her indomitable attitude…and her hat collection. She was often seen reading in her garden or driving through town in her green BMW convertible wearing a beret or a straw hat.

A long-term member of Essex Yacht Club (EYC), Eleanor helped found the Women’s Sailing program at EYC.

Eleanor spent the last three months of her life reading and painting with a view of the bay outside her room at Connecticut Hospice. She had most recently created a large art installation called “The Six Ladies.” At the time of her death, she was working on a story about this project and was in the midst of several other artistic collaborations.

Eleanor is deeply missed by all those who were privileged to have known her.