A memorial Mass for Sister Mary Evalyn House, OSU, was celebrated May 30 at Ursuline Academy in Kirkwood. She died peacefully May 20 at St. Andrew’s at Francis Place in Eureka.
She was born May 24, 1935, to Peyton and Lillian Mosby House in Granite City, Illinois. She entered the Ursuline community on July 15, 1954, and professed her vows on Jan. 16, 1957.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Webster University, a master’s degree in special education from Cardinal Stritch University, a licensed practical nursing diploma from Decatur School of Nursing and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Saint Louis University.
During her many decades of service, Sister Mary Evalyn had ministries in education and health care, serving in Missouri, Illinois and Texas. She was known for her joyous spirit and sense of humor.
In Missouri, she taught at Sacred Heart School in Festus from 1960-63, Corpus Christi School in Jennings from 1971-73, and St. Anthony’s Center in St. Louis from 1973-76. She also taught at St. Aloysius School in Springfield, Illinois, from 1963-65 and 67-71 and at Blessed Sacrament School in Springfield from 1965-67.
She began her nursing ministry on the staff of the Ursuline Infirmary in San Antonio from 1978-81; was an LPN at St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, Illinois, from 1981-85; on staff at the Ursuline Infirmary in Waterville, Maine, from 1985-86; and at the Ursuline Infirmary in Alton, Illinois, from 1986-88. She returned to San Antonio in 1990, serving as head nurse in the Ursuline Infirmary from 1990-92, nurse supervisor at Forum Health Care Center and teaching assistant at the University of Texas-San Antonio from 1992-99, and a caseworker at Odyssey Hospice from 2003-05.
Returning to Alton in 2005, she ministered as a nurse at the Ursulines’ Queen of Peace Infirmary from 2005-07 and served the Ursuline community in Alton from 2007-17, when she moved to Francis Place.
Burial was at St. Peter Cemetery.
