Eleanor W. Eisner | Musician, social worker, 78

Eleanor Wiberg Eisner, 78, formerly of Bala Cynwyd, a musician and retired social worker, died of lung cancer Jan. 18 at Stapeley, a retirement residence in Germantown, where she had lived since 2003.

Mrs. Eisner was a caseworker for several years for the Children's Aid Society of Montgomery County until her retirement in the late 1990s. She had a special interest in foster care, said her son, Benjamin, and wrote articles on the subject in professional journals.

She previously was a counselor at the Cynwyd School in Bala Cynwyd and in the 1970s was director of the Lower Merion Narberth Coalition for Older Adults.

She married Dr. Henry Eisner in 1958. While raising their children, she was president of the Cynwyd Elementary School Home and School Association and cochaired the Lower Merion Interschool Council Religious Guidelines Committee.

Mrs. Eisner taught piano, accompanied concert singers on piano, and played the cello in the Lower Merion Symphony Orchestra.

She grew up in the Midwest and in California and earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska. After earning a master's degree in social work from Smith College in Massachusetts, she worked at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where she met her husband.

In addition to her son and husband, Mrs. Eisner is survived by a daughter, Elizabeth; a brother; and four grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the Unitarian Society of Germantown, 6511 Lincoln Dr., Philadelphia, where she often played the piano and organ.