Sister Evelyn Varboncoeur

(Sister Anne Marcel)

Evelyn was born in Martinton, Illinois, but grew up on a farm in nearby Beaverville. The family consisted of their French Canadian father, her Irish mother, who was a teacher before becoming a wife and mother, and her twin sisters, Mary and Martha, who were two years younger than Evelyn. Her father was born to be a farmer. It was hard work but work that he loved doing.

Evelyn was taught by the Servants of the Holy Heart of Mary at Holy Family Academy for the first three years of her schooling, but a move meant attending the small country school for grades 4 through 6. She skipped 7th grade and was able to return to the Academy for 8th grade and high school. She was awarded a 4-year scholarship for St. Francis College in Joliet. Evelyn had always liked science and headed to college after graduation to pursue study in Medical Technology, but her college experience didn’t last long. Evelyn felt stirrings in her heart and left at the end of her first year to explore a call to religious life. She returned to the Sisters she knew so well: the Servants of the Holy Heart of Mary.

Sister Agnes Cunningham acted as mentor for Evelyn. She had been Evelyn’s religion teacher during high school. When she felt the call to religious life, it was Sister Agnes to whom Evelyn turned.
Her years in ministry gave Sister Evelyn much time in the medical arena. She worked in the lab at St. Mary’s Hospital, Kankakee, primarily in microbiology, helped with autopsies, and learned to draw blood. She studied Medical Technology at St. Louis University, where she had classes with medical students and worked with cadavers. While in St. Louis, she gained experience working at Des Loges Hospital, Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital, and St. Mary’s Hospital. She also had the chance to earn a Masters Degree in Microbiology at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Once back in Illinois, she worked in our hospitals in Champaign and Kankakee, serving in a variety of capacities including the hospital lab, in medical records, as Assistant Administrator, and on the Board of Directors. Sister Evelyn spent a number of years in health care governance, with involvements in the ServantCor, Provena, and Presence health care systems. During the years 1991-1995, Sister Evelyn lived in Montreal while serving on the congregation’s general council. She currently serves as our Formation Directress.

It is the charism of Family Spirit that has been the theme of Sister Evelyn’s life. Her birth family has always been loving and supportive. She values the way her religious family supports and challenges her. In her own words, “I especially need the constant challenges of community, the everyday rubbing elbows with others, seeing and loving the presence of Jesus in each one, and offering my support, love, and presence in return.”

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