May 24, 1935 – May 20, 2023

Sister Mary Evalyn House, OSU, died peacefully on May 20, 2023. She was 87 and living at St. Andrew’s at Francis Place in Eureka, Missouri.

The daughter of Peyton and Lillian Mosby House, she was born on May 24, 1935, in Granite City, Illinois. She entered the Ursuline community on July 15, 1954, and professed her vows Jan. 16, 1957.

She earned a bachelor’s degree from Webster University, a master’s degree in special education from Cardinal Stritch University, a practical nursing diploma from Decatur School of Nursing and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from St. Louis University.

During her many decades of service, Sister Mary Evelyn 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 1967-71 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, Texas, from 1978-81 and was an LPN at St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, Illinois, from 1981-85. She was on staff at the Ursuline Infirmary in Waterville, Maine, from 1985-86 and at the Ursuline Infirmary in Alton, Illinois, from 1986-88.

Sister Mary Evalyn 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 in Alton from 2005-07 and served the Ursuline community in Alton from 2007-17, when she moved to Francis Place.

A Memorial Mass was celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 30, at the Ursuline Academy Chapel in Kirkwood, Missouri. Interment was at St. Peter Cemetery in Kirkwood.