Sonya Katherine Eichler

With heavy hearts we mourn the loss of Sonya Katherine Eichler, who passed away peacefully on December 15, 2024, at the amazing age of 92 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. 

She will always be remembered for her wild sense of humor, her endless creativity in music, art, poetry, cooking, and her inexhaustible love for her friends and family. In a year of devastating loss for the Eichler/Geffen/Oster family, she joins her late brother Jon Vladimir Geffen and her treasured grandson, Elan Oster Eichler.

Sonya Katherine Eichler was born in St. Louis, Missouri on September 11, 1932 to Julia and Igor Geffen. The Geffen home was filled with music. Julia played piano and Igor was a cellist in the St Louis Symphony. He also founded and was the inaugural conductor for the St. Louis Little Symphony. Feeding a family of four in the shadow of the depression on a musician’s salary was often a struggle. Despite that, all four children–David, Sonya, Jon, and Judith–were encouraged to take music lessons. Sonya studied cello briefly with less than stellar results, but soon found a deep connection with the piano. She ultimately became a highly accomplished pianist, composer, songwriter and music instructor/ mentor.

At the age of 16, Sonya met the love of her life, the late Dr. Eugene Eichler, at the movie theatre where she worked at the concession stand. She was struck by his warmth and charm and how he wittily referred to his friend as a “licorice aficionado.” Their first date was a woefully mismatched double-date in which Sonya was paired with Gene’s friend, and Gene with Sonya’s. This situation was quickly remedied. During their two-year courtship, Sonya graduated from Blewett High School and enrolled at Washington University while Gene pursued his graduate degree in Chemistry and Nuclear Physics at Wash U. as well–-later helping pioneer the field of Nuclear Chemistry. They were married in St. Louis on April 18th, 1951.

After Gene completed his PhD program and service in the Army, Sonya and Gene made Oak Ridge, Tennessee their home. They became pillars of the community and fundamental contributors to its vibrant culture of science, music, and art. Both Sonya and Gene starred in many productions at the Oak Ridge Playhouse, were active members of the Jewish Congregation, and Gene founded the Foreign Film Club. While raising their three kids–-Miriam, Daniel, and Margrit–-their home on Outer Drive became a magnet for creativity. There were impromptu concerts on Sonya’s Steinway, slideshows, epic dinners, film-screenings, and late-night cosmic musings and confessions. With her welcoming spirit, easy laugh, sharp wit, and insatiable curiosity, Sonya presided over these gatherings, and fueled them with her scrumptious culinary inventions. Above and beyond this social swirl, Sonya and Gene became confidantes and cheerleaders for friends and extended family, young and old. Whenever anyone needed a shoulder to cry on, a couch to crash on, a source for advice, or a space to vent, Sonya always listened, empathized, supported, mentored, and never judged.

Sonya’s life was also enriched by two year-long family trips abroad. Gene’s work brought them to Rehovot, in Israel in 1962, and to Copenhagen in 1968/69. Sonya, already a mother of two, returned from Israel with a new-found passion for Middle Eastern cuisine, a set of beautiful Israeli baskets, and a third child. During the Danish sojourn, the Eichlers delighted in Copenhagen’s cozy / cool flavors of modernism in clothing, architecture, furniture, and food. For scientific purposes, they were obligated to eat mountains of Danish pastry, while also traveling to explore such destinations as Hamlet’s castle and Louisiana, Denmark’s famed modern art museum. In this fertile period, Sonya rented a piano to continue work on her violin and piano work, “Incantations.” She returned home with a first draft of her composition, a selection of Danish Modern furniture, new recipes, and lifelong friends–-including noted artists and designers who inspired Sonya’s growing interest in painting. 

In 1972, “Incantations” was performed at the Oak Ridge Civic Music Association by Jarrett Washington and Jacinta Howard–-both close friends and gifted musicians. Soon after the milestone concert, Sonya, age 40, expanded her repertoire to include songwriting, while deepening ties to fellow poets/best friends Joan Silva Kniseley and Joyce Haber. Sonya also resumed her undergraduate studies at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy.

In 1976, the Eichler family tragically lost Gene to an inoperable brain tumor. His zest for life, boundless energy, and unconditional kindness remained a comfort and inspiration for Sonya, and all who knew him. Friends and family from near and far–-particularly her sister Judith—supported Sonya during this difficult time of mourning and upheaval. 

While at U.T., Sonya met Professor Dwight Van de Vate, who ultimately became her second husband–-and to whom she was married for fourteen years. Sonya’s blended family now included Dwight’s children Kathy, Barbara, and Dwight III. Sonya adored her step-children and, later, the six Van de Vate grandchildren. In particular, Dwight III, his wife Tracy, and their three kids–-who towered over tiny Grandma Sonya—brought her much joy and loving support in her later Knoxville years. 

Starting in her mid-40s—when she attended a watercolor workshop led by the late artist, Carol Minarick—Sonya knew she had found her calling as a painter. Prolific and ever-evolving, she created a large and exuberant body of work. Her striking watercolors include abstracts, memory pieces from her childhood in St. Louis, and a unique series of full-sized portraits of Persian carpets. Whether figurative or abstract, her paintings are a joyful expression of her spirit, her humor, her warmth, and her deep exploration of self. Her work has garnered several juried prizes from shows at the Oak Ridge Arts Center and elsewhere.

In her later years, Sonya volunteered at the Joy of Music School in Knoxville where she was honored in her late 80s for helping change the lives of many budding musicians. Sonya’s Knoxville apartment was an epicenter of creative work and social gathering. Her home overflowed with art, music, food, friends, and family. She adored and delighted in her grandsons, Eli Rivas and Elan Oster Eichler, both deeply kind and creative souls in their own right (and founders of the ‘Bubbie’ Fanclub). Sonya beamed proudly whenever they shared their anecdotes, accomplishments, music, jokes, and love. For all of us who knew Sonya, in whatever phase of her long and storied life, her legacy will always be one of unconditional acceptance, love, unbridled creativity, fearless self-exploration, and fun.

In 2021, Sonya moved to assisted living at the Alexander Guest House in Oak Ridge. Known for her youthful style, she cultivated another branch of her extended family. With a team of superstars–including caregiver Jennifer McNabb, nurse Justine Underwood, and assistant executive director Luann Hanchett–--Sonya thrived, continually defying the odds. She was fond of saying, “You do the best with who you are.” Her sign-off was always, “Love you to infinity.” 

Sonya is preceded in death by her parents Igor and Julia Geffen, her brother David H. Geffen, her brother Jon V. Geffen, and her beloved grandson, Elan Oster Eichler. Sonya is survived by her adoring children—Miriam Eichler Rivas, Daniel Oster Eichler and Karen Oster Eichler, Margrit Eichler and Sarah Dunham, and by her grandson Eli Rivas and granddaughter-in-law Liv Rivas. Sonya is also survived by her devoted younger sister Judith Wills and brother-in-law Kenneth Wills, and by her doting step-children and their families, along with surrogate sons and daughters who called her their second mom, and her many nieces, nephews, friends, neighbors and admirers. 

In lieu of flowers, donations will be gladly received in Sonya’s memory to causes close to her heart:

1. The Joy of Music School in Knoxville, https://joyofmusicschool.org/donate/ 

2. Friends of Noise - www.friendsofnoise.org 

 Elan Oster Eichler Memorial Fund 

https://give-usa.keela.co/in-honor-of-elan-oster-eichler 

3. The Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge https://jcortn.org/donate/

Funeral service will be MONDAY, DECEMBER 30th at 1 PM at Mott-McKamey Funeral Home (formerly Martin Funeral Home), located at 1017 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge, TN. Burial will follow at Beth-El Cemetery, in Oak Ridge Memorial Park, 1501 Bethel Valley, Rd., Oak Ridge, TN.