Welcome to the memorial page for
Elinor "Nomie" Budelier
March 17, 1939 ~ August 2, 2016 (age 77) 77 Years Old Light a Candle
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A candle was lit by Ami Jenkins, Quad City Botanical Center, remembering Nomie
on September 13, 2016 12:54 PM
Message from Bohdan Dziadyk, Emeritus Professor and Director of Field Stations, Augustana College
August 18, 2016 4:50 PM
I did not know Elinor Budelier well, but what I did know of her was impressive. In 1992 Augustana College purchased from The Nature Conservancy of Illinois the approximately 70 acres of upland forest and hill prairie in Milan that Nomie and her mother had recently donated to the Conservancy for long-term preservation. The purchase cost of the property was paid by our neighbors the Collinson Family who owned the adjacent Collinson Stone Company, but the genesis for its conservation came from the Budeliers. Having had several talks with Nomie, I came to admire her well-rounded life that included both a 30-year career with the Central Intelligence Agency and a love for birds, gardens and the preservation of nature! Thank you Nomie.
A candle was lit by Doug Stapp & Family
on August 15, 2016 6:26 PM
Message from Stephanie Ross Harris from Southborough, MA
August 14, 2016 2:15 PM
We were so saddened to hear of cousin Nomie's passing as she was such a special person. My mother, Marcia Collins Ross, and Nomie were cousins. Actually, my grandmother, Marjorie Stapp Collins, and Nomie’s mother, Martha Stapp Budelier, were “double” cousins (I don’t know if there is such a term but that is what they called it!) because their mothers married two brothers so they were closer than typical cousins. As a child when we would visit my grandparents in Rock Island, we would always stop by and see Nomie’s parents, Martha and Carl. How we loved those visits and hearing about Nomie’s life in Washington D.C. It was so interesting to learn about her ability to speak multiple languages, her love of music and photography, and her years of working with the CIA. Although we never had the opportunity to spend much time with our gifted cousin, we were fortunate to reconnect with Nomie on a cold November day in 2014 when we visited her at Friendship Manor while we were in Rock Island for my mother’s funeral. Seeing Nomie, after so many years, as well as talking with her and introducing her to my husband, son, niece, and nephew, was very special. We learned more about our family history from her during that visit as she told us about a distant relative’s (John Stapp) journal that he kept from 1860 - 1862. Nomie, with her immense wisdom and talent, translated this journal from German to English. Now, thanks to Shirley Plumb, my sisters and I have copies of this wonderful document to share with our families so we can continue to pass on our heritage to the next generation. Thank you, Shirley, for keeping in touch with us and for caring for our dear cousin over the past four years. We will be forever grateful for Nomie and her presence in this world and our lives.
Message from Dwight Coffin
August 14, 2016 1:53 PM
Nomie was a lovely and very smart friend, an outstanding member of our 1956 Class at RIHS, She had an outstanding career with the CIA and contributed so much to many organizations, expressing her varied interests and concerns. Nomie had a cute Volkswagen bug in 1956 and drove us all over RI and Milan. I have many fond memories of Nomie and send my sympathy to her family and friends. Dwight Coffin
Message from DIANA HEALY AND RICHARD LEMKE
August 14, 2016 10:46 AM
We met Nomie through a mutual friend,Robert (Bob) Platt. She was always great to be around, witty but not mean. We corresponded through the internet until her last illness. It was a great honor to be included among her circle of friends.We will miss her and pray for the comfort of her family.
A candle was lit by The Harris Family: Stephanie, George, and Jackson
on August 14, 2016 10:34 AM
Message from Steve Freeman, Toccoa, GA
August 12, 2016 3:18 PM
I worked with Nomie at the CIA for 16 years, six of them in our division's headquarters unit in Washington. She stood out among our colleagues for her intelligence, poise and dedication to public service. She put the lie to Ronald Reagan's aspersion on government employees: shwe was from the government (and from an agency whose failures are trumpeted and whose successes are unheralded), she came to help and she did, leaving the world a better place for her having trod upon it. I last saw Nomie in February, 1982 at the funeral of a mutual friend and colleague, the chief of our division's Detroit office. She was then as she was throughout: gracious, generous, concerned, a model for all seasons.
A candle was lit by anonomous rest in peace Nomie
on August 11, 2016 7:03 AM
Message from audrey cenedella
August 11, 2016 6:45 AM
Nomie was a special soul. She was my childhood friend. I loved her parents and her grandparents, too. I spent many happy days with her family, her horse, Candy, and her amazing collie, Laddie. She had a fierce intelligence, a gift for language and the piano, and the most astonishing Lionel train village set up in the basement of her home in Milan. Her dad, Carl, spent years perfecting it with her. Her mother, Martha, could knit extraordinary coats and other clothing., She loved to treat us with home made goodies from her kitchen. Nomie and I had 'crushes' on Alec Guiness, and Lawrence Olivier and created a secret language to talk about the stage and movie roles Olivier played, his wife, Vivien Leigh, and heavens knows what else. My hunch is she would have known this language even as an elder. I can't remember a single word of it! I am so touched that a photo of us is in this photo montage. I will miss knowing she still walks the planet.
"IF' things had been different in our late life circumstances, I would have visited her as much as I could. I want to thank Shirley Plumb for providing me with a thread of connection regarding Nomie in the last years of her life.
"IF' things had been different in our late life circumstances, I would have visited her as much as I could. I want to thank Shirley Plumb for providing me with a thread of connection regarding Nomie in the last years of her life.
