Cecilia Eslinger, 83, passed away on July 14, surrounded by her loving family. Known in the area for having operated the Stanley Theater with late husband Daniel “Mussy” Eslinger, Cecilia was honored in a tribute by the Stanley Theater, now part of a legacy carried on by her children.
“Today we said goodbye to our founding mother, Cecilia Eslinger,” the Stanley Theater shared in a statement. “She had moxie, leadership, and courage. She has forever changed the landscape of Stanley.”
Born March 15, 1941 at Milwaukee Wisconsin to Anthony and Mary Janesich, Cecilia attended Mesmer High School in Milwaukee and worked at a bakery washing dishes. Learning the art of baking well, Cecilia assisted management by age 19, then going to work for department store JC Penny, working in management for nine years.
Coming north with her brother Anthony “Tony” Janesich in 1968, she purchased what is now the Stanley Theater. Meeting her future husband Daniel as she was settling into her new life and business, the two were wed in February of 1969, being married for 44 years before Daniel preceded her in death, in 2013.
Active members of Holy Family Parish, Daniel and Cecilia were blessed with six children: Philomena, Gloria, Louis, Theodore, Charles, and Theresa.
Also working in home care service for 25 years, Cecilia was an accomplished poet as well as musician, with her poem “Friends” published and displayed in the D.R. Moon Library in Stanley.
A funeral mass for Cecilia will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday July 19 at Holy Family, with burial following at Holy Family Catholic Cemetery.
A full obituary appears on page 7 of this week’s issue.
