Eileen Avis Castranova

Eileen Avis Castranova died peacefully in her home on June 2, 2023 at the age of 65 after a courageous several year battle with ALS.  

She was born on March 26, 1958 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to James and Eileen Avis. During her childhood, she developed a love of ballet and trained and performed with the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet in Philadelphia. She graduated from St. Joseph's University in 1980 where she met her husband Guy Castranova during their freshman year.  

After college she taught 8th grade at St. Michael the Archangel School in Levittown, PA., but after having her first child, she dedicated her whole life to raising her six children.  Eileen loved traveling with her family, especially to Disney World, and spending all of her free time at her beautiful home in Long Beach Island.  She was the biggest supporter of her children and loved to attend all of their performances, meets, games, plays, and art shows.  She was an advocate for adoption, believing that every child deserves a loving home and family. During her later years she loved babysitting her granddaughters and spoiling them endlessly. In the end, she was happiest being a wife, mother, and grandmother.  

Eileen is survived by her mother Eileen Avis, sister and brother-in-law Laura and Jim Jeffers, brother and sister-in-law John and Karen Avis, husband Guy Castranova, daughter and son-in-law Kate and Andrew Kehoe, son and daughter-in-law Guy and Sonya Castranova, daughter and son-in-law Meg and Austin Davis, son Daniel Castranova and partner Tessa Edgren, son William Castranova, daughter Mei Mei Castranova, her three granddaughters Autumn Kehoe, Riley Kehoe, and Chase Davis, her aunt Elizabeth Shea and numerous nieces and nephews.  She touched all of these lives deeply and will be missed beyond measure.  

The Castranova Family would like to extend their sincere thanks to Dr. Neil Shneider and his team at Columbia University for their compassion and access to experimental treatment, which undoubtedly extended Eileen's life expectancy and the experiences that she got to have.

Family and friends are invited to attend visiting hours on Wednesday, June 7th from 9:00am-11:00am at St. James Church located at 115 East Delaware Ave. in Pennington, NJ.   A Catholic Mass will follow.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to three organizations that had a tremendous impact on Eileen's life - Holt International Adoption (https://www.holtinternational.org) , Project ALS (https://projectals.org), and Eleanor and Lou Gehrig ALS Center (www.givenow.Columbia.edu).