Eileen F. (nee Lambe) Liotti of Westbury died on Aug. 12, 2008. She was 88 years old and suffered from Alzheimer's disease.

Born Aug. 8, 1920 in Queens, Eileen attended Jamaica High School until the Great Depression when she was forced to drop out of school in order to work so that her younger sister, Carol, might graduate. Her father, Francis Lambe, was born in Glasgow, Scotland and her mother Anna Burke, was a second generation implant from Dublin, Ireland.

Just prior to the Depression, Eileen's parents had a beautiful home in Bellerose and a summer home in the Rockaways. During the Depression, Frank Lambe's restaurant and bar business on Braddock Avenue in Queens failed and the family moved to a walkup, cold water flat in Ridgewood. It was a five-room, railroad- style apartment with a potbelly kitchen stove. Frank Lambe became afflicted with Parkinson's disease and was unable to work so, in order to support the family, Eileen's mother went to work in a dress pattern factory and Eileen became a secretary, clerk and during and after World War II, worked as a model in New York City.

In 1941, Eileen married Louis J. Liotti and, at the time of his death on April 2, 2008, they were together for 72 years; 67 of which they were married. The Liottis moved to Westbury in 1951, first buying a Levitt home in the Salisbury section and later moving to the Incorporated Village of Westbury where Eileen was a lifelong member of the Mercy League of Long Island and a former member of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Maria Del'Assunta Society of Westbury.

Eileen worked for the Nassau County Clerk's Office for 20 years and retired in 1982. Her son, Thomas F. Liotti, an attorney in Garden City and a Westbury Village Justice, said, "She was a lifelong inspiration to me. She encouraged me in everything I did - from teaching me how to swim at the Carmen Avenue Pool in Salisbury to becoming an attorney and judge. She was a powerhouse of support and a beautiful, dignified and elegant woman with exceptional style and grace," said Thomas Liotti.

He added, "My mother was afflicted with Alzheimer's, one of the worst diseases known. I am hopeful that a cure may be found because no one should have to finish their lives as my mother did. I plan to spend some portion of my remaining life trying to help those afflicted with this terrible disease."

Eileen Liotti is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Thomas F. and Wendy Liotti; three grandchildren, Louis, Carole and Francesca; and a sister, Carol Melzig of Bethpage. Arrangements were made by the Donohue Cecere Funeral Home, 290 Post Avenue, Westbury. A Mass took place at St. Brigid's Church followed by interment at Holy Rood Cemetery. Donations in Mrs. Liotti's memory can be sent to either the Alzheimer's Foundation of America, 322 Eighth Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10001 or, St. Brigid's Church through St. Brigid's Parish Outreach, 75 Post Avenue, Westbury, NY 11590.