Eleanor was born on March 22, 1948 in the Bronx, NY. She was raised by her father Philip and mother Violet Bekmesian. Eleanor moved around a bit in her childhood. From the Bronx she lived in Queens for some time before heading back to the Bronx in the Parkchester section as a young adult. Eleanor worked for more than a decade at Con Edison as a Customer Service Representative.  That is where she met her husband Howard Hagestad, an engineer at Con Ed. They married July 10, 1976 and settled in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn from that point on. Once she had her first child, Jason, she stayed at home to raise him and four years later, his sister Heather. The family lived in the Bay Ridge Towers and many neighbors became more like friends and family, as Eleanor was always quite the social butterfly. Eleanor was known to have a vibrant, animated, light-hearted demeanor. Many are witnesses to her kind and loving heart whether it be at home, at work, with relatives or even strangers.

Eventually, Eleanor went back to work as a school aide for several schools within the NYC Department of Education. She became great friends with people along the way. Eleanor was known for her love of the NY Mets, Old Hollywood, scratchoffs, "playing her numbers," going to Atlantic City and frequenting Broadway shows. If you were in any way close to Eleanor, chances are you received a card for your birthday, a holiday or whatever celebration and it had scratch offs inside. Eleanor was a giver and always thought of others before herself. She put her heart and soul into her family members and loved ones and made us laugh joyfully along the way. Eleanor was always proud of her children in all their endeavors. She boasted when her son Jason graduated the Police Academy in 2003 and was thrilled at every milestone he met thereafter, from becoming a police officer, sergeant, lieutenant, and captain. When Heather graduated from college Summa Cum Laude and then received her Master's Degree from NYU in Speech Language Pathology, she would share her beaming pride with everyone she spoke to. Her children were vital to her and even when they were well into their adulthood years, she always reminded them to take their phone, keys and wallet before they headed out the door and to call her when they got home.

In 2010, her daughter Heather married Matt. Eleanor considered him as not just her son-in-law, but as another son and always accepted him with open arms (even though he was a diehard Yankee fan). Eleanor and Matt instantly established a great rapport and frequently engaged with back and forth banter since Matt likes to bust chops and Eleanor would so easily react. They often had a very comedic display between them that was entertaining to those present. Perhaps Eleanor's greatest role in her life, was when she became "Nanny" to her granddaughter Audrey Violet. Eleanor was instrumental in Audrey's upbringing by watching her several times a week while both Matt and Heather worked full time. She often would come to their apartment as early as 6:30 AM and stay until whenever she was needed. She also watched Audrey at her apartment which Audrey loved. Eleanor showered Audrey with boundless love and joy and it was clear to see that her granddaughter was the light of Eleanor's life. Matt and Heather are so incredibly grateful for everything she has contributed during her time with Audrey. There is great comfort in recognizing that Eleanor was truly able to experience a precious bond with her granddaughter, even though it was cut terribly short.

Shortly after 2018 began, Eleanor's life and the lives of her loved ones were forever changed. Eleanor suffered a brain hemorrhage (stroke), a significant one, which began to impact her in ways we never could have imagined. The stroke, compounded with other medical conditions, made the road to recovery challenging. After a couple of hospital stays, Eleanor went to an in-patient rehabilitation center in Manhattan for almost 3 months. Howard visited her every single day to offer comfort and motivation during the times when rehab was most difficult for her. With the help of her family and incredible team of PT's, OT's and SLP's, Eleanor made some small strides of progress before coming home. Once home, Howard was her primary caretaker and he pushed boundaries and obstacles in the face of this new, daunting task with incredible strength and poise.  Progress was minimal at best and Eleanor still suffered moderate physical and cognitive difficulties. Her family received the devastating news from the neurologist that Eleanor had two diagnoses; both of which were degenerative, progressive and had no cures or treatment currently available. Eleanor had a condition called Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy (CAA) which occurs when protein deposits develop on the blood vessel walls in the brain. These deposits weaken the wall, thus allowing the vessel to open and cause a micro-bleed. Unfortunately, Eleanor had many, many micro-bleeds and there were occurring fairly aggressively and was the cause of her stroke. The other diagnosis was Alzheimer's Disease, the same condition that Eleanor watched her mother endure for many years. A few weeks ago, Eleanor had another setback and it was clear that her time was limited with us here on Earth. On July 15, 2018, Eleanor's suffering ended.

Please continue to keep Eleanor in your hearts and minds, as she was a truly special individual that impacted so many others in tremendous ways.