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Eileen Bidwell, 72, a longtime resident of Albuquerque, died on Tuesday, October 28, 2003 after a long battle with cancer. She is survived by Roy, her husband of 52 years; children, Paul and Mark and his wife, Karen; grandchildren, Stuart and Blair, all of Albuquerque; niece, Ingrid Knight and her sons, Guy and Rowan, of Nottinghamshire, England, and Aliane Parent and her children, Marlene, Brice and Alice, of Ax-en-Provence, France. She was preceded in death by her parents, Frank and Elsie Watkinson of London, England; and her sister, June of Godmanchester, England. She was born in Godmanchester, and lived and worked in London before moving to Albuquerque in 1958 where she worked in property management, healthcare administration and at Rio Grande Title Company the family owned business. She was involved in many community activities with her husband and was his right hand during his volunteer leadership roles with the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, St. Joseph Healthcare, Albuquerque Economic Development, the Albuquerque Museum and other community organizations. In recognition of her community involvement, she was honored with her husband with the 2001 Spirit of Achievement Award by the National Jewish Medical and Research Center. On the evening of January 1, 1976 a major fire totally destroyed the new Rio Grande Title building in the Uptown area. Viewing the devastation the morning after she commented, " I don't think we'll plan a vacation this year. We're going to be busy and we'd better get started." She went on to organize and direct a year-long recovery program which salvaged over 9,000 cubic feet of critical real estate title files and title indexes which had been severely damaged as a result of the fire and fire fighting efforts. She designed a production line which included hair dryers, flat irons and clothes wringers to process the damaged papers, at the end of which each piece was microfilmed and indexed. Friends, customers and local business people volunteered in the recovery effort including several attorneys from local law firms. The group became known as the Rio Grande Title Firebugs. The salvaged documents were then organized and the critical data extracted and entered into an in-house custom-designed computer system which became the region's first on-line computerized title plant, and which eventually served four title companies. She went on to coordinate Rio Grande Title's special projects for several years during the company's rapid growth. She retired from Rio Grande Title to concentrate on helping Roy in his community work and then joined Southwest Pulmonary Associates from which she retired in 1996. Although very involved in business and community affairs, her real mission in life was her family and the family home in Albuquerque. She stayed home with the children when they were young and during their formative years, and brought Aliane, a student from France into the home. Aliane became like a member of the family and came from France to be with Eileen during her illness. Eileen had a wide circle of friends whom she cherished and with whom she spent many enjoyable times. Her love for her adopted home was profound and knew no bounds. She enjoyed frequent trips abroad and always looked forward to returning to her home in New Mexico. She said, "Of all the decisions we've made as a family, the one that rises above all others was the one to come to America because of the choices and opportunities that it offered, especially to the children." She firmly believed that this is still the case for anybody willing to work hard and commit themselves to an ideal, and that each of us has a responsibility to be the best we can be, and to contribute to the common good. In the weeks leading up to her recent hospitalization she had enjoyed renovating and decorating the family condominium in Santa Fe. She was a gifted creator of hand-knitted ladies and baby clothes and an admirer and friend of many New Mexico artists. She especially enjoyed the art of New Mexico and the permanent collections of the Albuquerque Museum. She was a strong supporter of her husband's advocacy for an expanded museum, the better to display its collections. She enjoyed collecting the art and artifacts of the Rio Grande region, including the religious carvings of the Santeros of northern New Mexico. She was known for her beautiful Christmas decorations in the family home and her love of the holiday festivities in New Mexico. She loved London's West End musical theater, romance novels, and keeping up with current affairs and business and banking and real estate activities. She was the moral compass and anchor for her family and considered her life blessed, filled as it was with family and friends and lived out in what she thought of as a special place in the world. She asked for little and gave much and as a result she received much in return, which always seemed to surprise her. The family extends its heartfelt thanks to her many friends for their love and support, to Dr. Paul Duncan for his care and friendship over many years, Dr. Malcolm Purdy, Jan and the staff at Hematology-Oncology Associates, Mary Collins, RN and the nurses and staff at Presbyterian Hospital's Oncology Ward, and Jan Cameron, RN, and the doctors, nurses and staff at Presbyterian Kaseman Hospice. A Memorial Service will be held Saturday, November 1, 2003, at 2:00 p.m., at the Cathedral Church of St. John, 318 Silver SW, with The Reverend Gary Meade officiating. Cremation has taken place and private Interment will be held at Sunset Memorial Park, 924 Menaul Blvd. NE. Should friends desire, memorial contributions may be made to Presbyterian Kaseman Hospice, 8100 Constitution Place NE, 87110, or to a charity of their choice. French Mortuary 7121 Wyoming Blvd. NE 823-9400
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