The Reverend Eileen C. Lindeman, a retired Episcopal priest, died peacefully on June 15, 2026, after several years of decline, held close by family near and far. She was 72.

Eileen was, above all, a woman of insatiable curiosity and deep faith. From childhood, she was a voracious reader, a violinist, and a high-jumper, approaching every corner of life with energy and an open mind. This spirit carried her from the Episcopal parishes of Nebraska through a mystical encounter in the Jesus Movement, into a monastery in New Mexico, and ultimately to a decades-long vocation as a priest, spiritual director, and tireless advocate for those on the margins.

As the mother of a daughter born with Down Syndrome, Eileen channeled her advocacy into action, building networks of respite care for families living with disability and earning Nebraska's Governor's Award for that work. It was characteristic of her: she met need with community building and hardship with hope. She advocated fiercely for her children, helping them engage with opportunities and resources to cultivate their own gifts and talents, and discerning where to deploy them at the intersection of the world’s need and their own joy.

Her ordination was hard-won. Only the second woman ordained to the Episcopal Priesthood in Nebraska, she pursued her call in a diocese resistant to the ordination of women, commuting to Creighton University for her theology degree while serving simultaneously as a hospital chaplain, a substance abuse chaplain, and a seminarian. Her persistence was rewarded with a singular honor: serving at the altar of Canterbury Cathedral on Easter Sunday, a rare privilege at a time when the Church of England had yet to ordain women.

Her ministry spanned Nebraska, California, and Rhode Island, and touched thousands through her preaching, spiritual direction, and gift for forming community. In her final post at Holy Spirit Church in Charlestown, Rhode Island, she pioneered Godly Play programs for people of all abilities and adapted faithfully through the challenges of the pandemic. She was brilliant, kind, whimsical, artistic, and faithful. She loved a good story and starred in many great ones through her spontaneity, energy, passion, and relentless curiosity.

She is survived by her husband of fifty years, the Rev. Mitchell J. Lindeman; children, the Rev. Matthew (Anna), Catherine, and Madeleine Claire; two grandchildren Jonah and Ruth; her sisters the Rev. Cheryl Cornish (Mark Allen) and Mary (Andy) Siegel; her siblings in love, Mark (Pinky) Lindeman, Suzanne Collins Lindeman, Christie (Angel) Luna and Cynthia (Ricardo) Vestuti and a wide circle of those whose lives she illuminated.

A Requiem Eucharist will be announced at the Church of Holy Spirit, Charlestown, Rhode Island. Memorial gifts may be made to Episcopal Charities, Rhode Island.