Robert Kyle “Bob” Eilenfeldt, who spent almost four decades in the mattress business, has died. He was 81.
Eilenfeldt, who retired in 2011 to devote more time to church work, began his career at JCPenney in Gary, Indiana, in 1968 as a management trainee. Seven years later, he transferred to the corporate offices in New York in the furniture buying department, where he met his future wife, Linda. He worked on the JCPenney mattress program in a variety of capacities.
After working as a regional sales manager for Douglas Furniture, Eilenfeldt returned to the mattress category that was his first love. He joined Englander in 1980, managing its JCPenney business.
Eilenfeldt went on to work for Serta (twice), Sealy and Spring Air. He was working on national accounts at Serta when he retired.
He was passionate about his volunteer work. In the 1990s and early 2000s, he worked with the YMCA Indian Princess program with his daughter, Mary.
He converted to Catholicism in 1996 and attended Good Shepherd Catholic Community in Colleyville, Texas, where he participated in mission work, including mission trips to Honduras, which he described as a “life-changing experience.” He was a founding member of Catholic Brothers in Christ and served on state and national mission councils. In 2024, he was awarded the Diocesan Light of Christ award, which his wife described as “his proudest achievement.”
Survivors include his wife, his daughter, his son, Kyle, his grandson Maddox, and two sisters.
A memorial service will be held on Monday, March 23, at Good Shepherd Catholic Community, 1000 Tinker Road, Colleyville, Texas, 76034. The rosary will be said at 10:15 a.m., followed by a Mass at 11 a.m.
Memorials may be made to the Bob Eilenfeldt Memorial Scholarship Program for Health Education in Honduras, administered by Good Shepherd Catholic Community to assist the youth in Honduras, or to Catholic Charities of Fort Worth, 249 Thornhill Drive, Fort Worth, Texas, 76115.
