Obituary of Evelyn Elizabeth Kane

Religious of the Sacred Heart Evelyn Elizabeth Kane, educator, pastoral counselor and minister to migrant farm workers, died Monday, December 2, at Teresian House in Albany, New York. She will be remembered in a Mass of Christian Burial at 1:00 PM, Wednesday, December 11, in the Teresian House Chapel in Albany. Visitation will be at Teresian House for an hour before the Mass. Burial will be in the Sacred Heart cemetery at Kenwood. The only daughter of Jasper T. and Loretta S. Kane, both deceased, she was born in Brooklyn, New York, on September 3, 1921. Her seven brothers preceded her in death including her twin, Herbert T. Kane, SJ and Jasper, Arthur, Edward, Charles, Robert and Harold Kane. She is survived by numerous nieces and nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews, who showed great love and devotion to "Aunt Ev," whom they considered the family matriarch. She entered the Society of the Sacred Heart in 1942 at Kenwood in Albany, New York, and made her final vows in 1950 at the Motherhouse in Rome. She is remembered with fond affection by her sisters in the Society of the Sacred Heart, alumnae, former colleagues and the staff at Teresian House who cared for her so lovingly in her final years. A natural educator, Sister Kane's teaching career began at Eden Hall Academy of the Sacred Heart in Philadelphia in 1945. In 1947, she moved to Newton Academy of the Sacred Heart in Newton, Massachusetts. From 1950-58, she taught at the Convent of the Sacred Heart (Lawrence Avenue) in Detroit, then at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, 1958-67. She served at Kenwood Convent of the Sacred Heart in Albany for two years before becoming provincial secretary for education for the New York Province of the Society of the Sacred Heart. She returned to the classroom in 1970 at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich and taught high school math for two decades. She loved her subject matter and was passionate about establishing a firm mathematics foundation for students as they began their high school studies. Beginning in 1983, she served in pastoral ministry at St. Clement of Rome Parish in Stamford, Connecticut, visiting the homebound and sick of the parish. By 1990, her pastoral ministry had evolved and she also taught adult scripture classes at St. Clement, St. John's in Darien, Connecticut and at the Convent of the Sacred Heart. She loved the opportunity to serve in a spiritual ministry and continued until her retirement in 2004. Sister Kane dedicated many of her summers away from school in ministry to migrant farmworkers, in the dioceses of Saginaw, Michigan, Kalamazoo, Michigan and Raleigh, North Carolina. Sister Kane approached everything she did with the heart of an educator. She was committed to serving the poor, especially immigrants. Perhaps reflecting her position as an only daughter among several sons, she loved games and spending time outdoors canoeing, backpacking and skiing. Her brilliant smile made her both approachable and endearing throughout her life. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics, with a minor in chemistry, from Notre Dame College of Staten Island, New York, Sister Kane earned a Master of Arts in education from the Manhattanville College Graduate Division, in Albany and a Master of Arts in mathematics from the University of Detroit in 1964. She also was awarded permanent certification as elementary teacher in Michigan, New York, and Connecticut. Memorial contributions may be made to the Society of the Sacred Heart, 4120 Forest Park Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63108.