Sister Evangeline Davis, OP

Transcription

1 Sister Evangeline Davis, OP Sister Evangeline Davis was born on September 23, 1917, in Detroit, one of five children born to Samuel and Edna (Mills) Davis. Her two sisters died as infants, and her younger brother died after an accident at the age of twelve. About her family she wrote: I know almost nothing about [my parents ] ancestral history. The emphasis in our family was on being American. Dad had been in the cavalry and became a great lover of our country after spending time in the Philippines and other parts of the world. Mother died when I was sixteen years old, leaving Dad to raise my brother and me. I could write a book about my wonderful father who did so many good things for other people. After graduating from a public high school, Evangeline attended Wayne State University in Detroit for a year. It was there she met Mildred Connelly, an English professor, who was a friend of Mother Gerald Barry. Mildred who invited her to attend a retreat at Sacred Heart Convent located near Visitation Parish. This became a pivotal experience in Sister Evangeline s life. She wrote, I eventually took instructions in the Catholic Faith from the retreat master, Father Leo DeBarry. On June 3, 1935, I was baptized for the first time in my life at Visitation Parish; made my First Holy Communion at the Sacred Heart Convent; and two days later was confirmed at Nativity Parish. Through Father DeBarry and Mildred Connelly, I learned about St. Joseph College. Although I was quite afraid of the Dominican Sisters during the first months [at the College], I soon got over this fear when I began to mingle with the novices and postulants in my classes. By 1937 my course work was completed, so I decided that I might as well do my practice teaching as a Sister. Sister Evangeline entered the postulate in June 3, 1937, and at reception received her religious name, Sister Mary Samuel. She completed her undergraduate studies at St. Joseph College during her novitiate and received her bachelor s degree. Following profession in 1939, Sister Evangeline was assigned to Catholic University of America in Washington, DC to begin her graduate studies. Sister Evangeline s first thirty years of teaching were primarily in high schools located in Michigan, Florida, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. The only two exceptions were her first four years at Siena Heights College and one year at St. Patrick Elementary School. 1

2 In 1970, she returned to Siena Heights College where she taught and chaired the Language Department for nineteen years. In 1975, she developed a culture course that she began teaching the following year. In her Annals she described how she prepared to teach this course. My trip to Spain was a self-designed study trip to prepare me for a culture course I would be teaching at Siena Heights. Living with various Spanish Dominican Sisters, visiting the tombs of the saints, witnessing the sudden changes in Spanish Religious Life and in the Church, was a shot in the arm for me. I also studied for four weeks at the University of Salamanca. She also taught in the College English as a Second Language (ESL) program. In 1989, the Board of Trustees at Siena Heights College awarded her the title of Professor Emerita for her untiring service, competent administration, creative programming and effective teaching. After receiving this honor, Sister Evangeline was asked if she had given any thought to retiring from teaching. In her autobiography wrote, Since I hadn t [given any thought to retirement], I decided to take a year to consider the possibility and to decide carefully what I wanted to do. Asking myself in what type of work I had been the happiest, I remembered the joy I experienced in teaching English to foreign adults in the ESL program of Siena Heights College. Therefore, upon retiring I enrolled in the ESL Program at St. Michael College in Winooski, Vermont. I chose to specialize in the teaching of the English language to adults who did not know their own native language very well. Fortunately at that time there were six hundred Amerasians 1 in Burlington, the neighboring town. Learning to teach them was a golden opportunity. In 1990, Sister Evangeline was certified by St. Michael College as a teacher of English as a Second Language. Now, in addition to being proficient 2 in German and Spanish and able to read French, she was qualified to focus teaching English to foreign adults. By 1992, Sister Evangeline was living in Lakeland, Florida, and teaching ESL as a substitute teacher for a friend of hers who was the regional director of the program. She also taught at the West Area Adult School and taught for a summer in Warsaw, Poland, and for one and a half years in Hungary. In addition to her commitment to teaching English as a second language, she also was active in her parish, serving in various capacities, such as minister to the sick and lector. In 2006, her 1 A person with one American and one Asian parent. 2 Proficiency in Non-English Languages requires ability to read, write and speak the language 2

3 pastor asked her to set up a parish library at St. John Neumann Church in Lakeland. This was a whole new experience and she said, It brought me much new learning and happiness. In 2009, Sister Evangeline returned to Adrian, where she died on December 4, 2015, at the age of ninety-eight and in the seventy-seventh year of her religious profession. During the wake/remembrance service the following tributes were given. Father Arnold Perham her friend for more than 60 years, sent this message: [Sister Evangeline] loved the Adrian Dominican Community; she loved the way the liturgy was celebrated in the chapel; she was amazed at how the Chaplain could proclaim the gospel without reading from the text. She loved Jamie and Alicia Tobar family whom she first met in Quito, Ecuador, thirtyplus years ago and then became part of their family. She loved classical music, the Croswell Opera House, and Wompler s Lake. As she grew older, she tried to take care of her own needs. When I visited with her on her 98th birthday, she said, Would you drive me to Meijers? I want to buy a broom, dust pan and ironing board. Jonathan Tobar described Sister Evangeline as the family grandmother. He said: In the summer of 1990 God brought our family to the United States. It first began to understand how mission focused Evangeline was. was then I [She was] a mother to those in need and defender of the orphan, the widows, the immigrant and poor. She demanded that we respect our parents. She highly prized the life of the mind. She taught us about American culture, how to cook, clean, etc. She was a powerful example of what it means to live a life for Christ. God has blessed me with many of his children, but Evangeline was one of His best. In her homily, Sister Maria Goretti Browne, Vicaress, said: Would you agree that Evangeline chose those Readings 3! Before you were born, I dedicated you and appointed you as a prophet to the nations. Little did Evangeline know when she was young just how prophetic those words were. And again, Paul s fitting words-- and her words: I have kept the faith. What a life she had to offer to her Maker ninety-eight years of faithfulness, seventy-seven 3 Jeremiah 1:4-11, 2Timothy 4: 6-9, Mark 10,

4 faithfully fulfilling her vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, seventy some years of teaching science, mathematics, Spanish, German, English, and English as a Second Language, tutoring, serving the poor whenever possible, of reaching out in as many ways as she could! After all this, Paul says there will be a crown waiting. I am sure Evangeline did not live for a crown, but she did look forward to the joy that awaited her last Friday. So, Evangeline, you are free. All your worries and cares stayed right here as you passed into eternity. May you now be carefree as a child and continue to serve the God you served so well on Earth. May you rest in peace. Amen. Father Jim Hug, SJ, offered the following prayer during the liturgy: Help us to be, as Evangeline was: Reliable, caring, open to discover the adventure of Your Life, Courageous in following wherever You drew her, and Trusting always in the fullness of Your Life and Your Love for her. 4

5 Left: May 1965, Right: In the library that she founded and staffed for St. John Neumann Parish, Lakeland, Florida. Center: With Father Frank Buck, then pastor of St. John Neumann, on the 25th anniversary of the parish. Right: Father Arnold Perham, CSV, visits Sister Evangeline on her 98th birthday, September 23, Left: Surrounding Sister Evangeline, seated, are, from left: Sisters Mary Jean Clemenger, Grace Flowers, Paul Emelia Brown, Francis Elizabeth McDonnell, Margaret Exworthy, Frances Barfield, and Helen Dompierre. Right: 1998 Diamond (60-year) Jubilarians are: back row, from left; Sisters Helen Duggan, Marie Bentz, Evangeline Davis, Julie Ann Burns, Virginia Hafey-Wells, and Diana Miler; middle row, from left, Sisters Virginia Rose Heroux, Dorothy Hemmert, Frances Ellen Bowery, and Charles Christine Uhnavy; and front row, from left, Sisters Thomas Ellen McGowan and John Loretto Bowery. 5