WALLINGFORD - Eleanor M. (Schumacher) Sondey, 89, of Wallingford, beloved wife of the late Walter T. Sondey Sr., departed this life on Sunday, July 17, 2011 at Village Green Healthcare Center in Wallingford. Eleanor was born on November 26, 1921 in Wallingford, daughter of the late Albert and Clara (Greenslet) Schumacher and was a 1939 graduate of Lyman Hall High School. She had been employed as a payroll clerk for Wallace Silversmith and, with her husband, had run Sondey's Colonial Service Station in Wallingford for many years. Eleanor was a life-long member of the First United Methodist Church in Wallingford and participated in the Susannah Circle, the United Methodist Women, as well as assisting with craft fairs and teaching Sunday School. In 1987 she was recognized for her outstanding volunteer service with The Box Project, an organization that matched families in poverty with sponsor families or organizations. Under Eleanor's leadership, the Susannah Circle at the First United Methodist Church served as the sponsors for a Mississippi family, a relationship that continued for over thirty years, until the death of the mother in 2001. Eleanor will be missed by her children: Walter T. Sondey Jr. of Costa Mesa, California; and Margaret "Meg" Sondey and her husband, William Hines, of Willoughby Hills, Ohio, as well as grand-children Evangeline and Jacob Hines. She is also survived by sisters-in-law, Elaine Sondey and Helen (Kenneth) Mansfield, as well as many cousins, nephews and nieces and their family members. She was predeceased by a brother and his wife, Vernon (Antonia "Toni" Holtei) Schumacher of Florida and a sister and her husband, Mildred (Dennison "Denny") MacDonald of Madison, Connecticut, as well as brother-in-law, Edward Sondey, and brother-in-law, Theodore Sondey, both of Wallingford. The family wishes to thank all those who assisted Eleanor in her later years, especially special friend, Pat Levasseur, and caregivers Sharon Empronto and Pat Mantey. A Memorial Service celebrating Eleanor's life will be held on Saturday, July 23rd at 1:00 PM at the First United Methodist Church of Wallingford. Interment will follow at In Memoriam Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be directed in her memory to the First United Methodist Church, 941 Old Rock Hill Road, Wallingford, CT 06492. The B. C. Bailey Funeral Home of Wallingford has been entrusted with arrangements.