Sister Evelyn Margaret Klemmer, CSJ, formerly known as Sister Marian Veronica, died on June 9, one week short of her 100th birthday. Born in Manhattan, she attended St. Gregory and Ascension elementary schools.
When the family moved to Long Island, Evelyn continued her education at Long Beach’s junior and senior high schools. Her decision to pursue a career in nursing led her to St. Catherine’s Hospital School of Nursing, from which she graduated as an RN in 1946.
After seven years, Evelyn entered the Sisters of Saint Joseph and began a lifelong ministry of nursing at St. Joseph Convent Infirmary in Flushing, followed by more than forty years at St. John’s Hospital in Long Island City and then in Elmhurst.
During this half century of nursing, Sister Marian Veronica earned a BS in Nursing Education from St. John’s University and an MA from Columbia University. She also studied Maternity Nursing at Margaret Hague Maternity Hospital in Jersey City and earned Teacher Certification from the American Society for Psychoanalysis in Obstetrics, as well as American Red Cross certifications in Preparation for Childbirth, Early Care of the Newborn, and Preparation for Breastfeeding.
Many young couples remember Sister Marian Veronica for her patient teaching and coaching in her role as a Certified Lamaze Instructor. In 1990, she was inducted as a “Fellow” into the American College of Childbirth Education.
Sister Evelyn was always a quiet, joyful presence at family gatherings, enjoying lively conversations with her siblings, nieces, nephews, and the youngest generation, eager to hear the latest family news.
Though she retired from active nursing in 1997, Sister Evelyn continued to bring hope, love, and joy to each person she met by traversing Queens by bus to visit a friend or to attend a meeting of one of the Prayer
groups with which she prayed regularly.
Two years ago, Sister Evelyn moved to Stella Maris Living with Assistance Convent in Rockaway Park and accepted the care and companionship shown to her by all at Stella Maris, as well as the frequent visits from family and friends, until her death.
Father Tom Poth celebrated a Mass of Christian Burial for Sister Evelyn in Maria Regina Chapel, followed by burial in Calvary Cemetery in Brentwood.
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