Evelyn Catherine Starobin

Born on May 15, 1938 in Karlsruhe, Germany, Evelyn was the second daughter of Oskar and Hilde Fuchs. Born into a well-to-do German Jewish family just six months before Kristallnacht, Evelyn’s first year of life was spent fleeing the Nazis. Her Father, Mother and older sister initially fled Germany for Basel, Switzerland but were forced to leave Evelyn behind in the care of Helena (Hena) Joachim, her nanny, so as not to arouse the suspicion of the authorities. Hena later helped secret Evelyn out of Germany to re-join her family.

Along with Hena, the Fuchses eventually joined Evelyn’s grandfather in New York and settled in Mount Vernon, where Evie and her family embarked on their version of the American Dream. Her father, groomed to take over the family’s lumber business in Karlsruhe, started over as a Fuller Brush salesman. Her mother opened her own knit shop, Hilde’s Knits. Evie enjoyed a typical mid-century American girlhood: going to summer camp, playing games of all types, and spending time with her dog Troubles.

At 18, she moved to Boston to attend Boston University. That first fall she donned a brown suit and had a fateful blind date with a young first year medical student, Sidney Starobin. The two became a couple and were married two years later, in August 1958. Following many women of her generation, Evie left school after their wedding to help support her husband as he finished his medical education and served in the Army, stationed in Texas.

Sid and Evie started their family soon after they wed - and didn’t waste time. Amy was born in 1960, Jean in 1961, Suzanne in 1966, and Lisa in 1968. The family lived first in Holliston, where Sidney helped build Holliston Pediatric, before moving to Sudbury to raise their family.

As Sidney focused on his medical career; Evie devoted herself to raising four strong women. She led by example, returning to college in the early 1970’s to complete her Bachelor’s degree and then marching off to work selling advertisements for the local newspaper, the Sudbury Town Crier. Her daughters recall her hours of hard work, and late nights ‘setting’ the paper on the kitchen table. Smart and determined, Evie worked her way up to become the paper’s business manager.

Evelyn was living proof that you can take the girl out of Germany, but not take Germany out of the girl. She kept an immaculate house and waged a never-ending war on clutter. (Watch out! If you leave things on the kitchen counter, they might disappear for good!) Evie knew the rules and expected everyone to follow them. She wasn’t shy about barking orders.

Evie had a curious and sharp mind - super sharp. She was an avid reader of everything- fiction, the newspaper, The New Yorker, and never shied away from a substantive discussion. She had a dry wit, a warm laugh and a wonderful sense of humor. She was an excellent Bridge player.

Though raised in a culinary desert, Evie discovered Julia Child early on and became a gourmet home cook - in large part by watching Julia do her thing. She collected hundreds of recipes - a treasure her daughters were honored to inherit. Her food was truly delicious, and that is just a fact. Even more important: she instilled a love of food and cooking in all her children.

Evelyn had a green thumb and her house was filled with plants of all kinds: succulents, spider plants, kumquat trees. She cultivated a huge, productive garden at her home in Sudbury with vegetables and flowers. In her later years, she devoted herself full time to flowers: taking a job as a florist after retiring from her job at the Town Crier.

Above all, Evie was a fiercely loyal and loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend. She adored her husband; and made that clear every day with affection and devotion. She was his absolute partner in all of the adventures and challenges life threw at them. She raised her four daughters to be both self-reliant and nurturing. And she relished the role of grandmother: celebrating each one of her 12 grandchildren.

Evelyn is survived by Amy and Eric Kamisher of Park City, Utah; Jean and Kirk Hatfield of Gainesville, Florida; Suzanne and Rick Wynn of Natick, Massachusetts; Lisa Starobin and Paul Roberts of Belmont, Massachusetts, as well as by her grandchildren Olivia and Alex Kamisher, Sonia (Rich Pugleisi), Max, and Charlie Hatfield, Oliver, Julia, Haley, and Charlie Wynn, Eliana, Shira, and Ruby Roberts, and her great-granddaughter: Liora Pugleisi. She will be missed.

We are deeply grateful for the years of exceptional care that Evelyn and Sidney received at Dana Farber Cancer Institute; especially from Drs. David Jackman, Robert Soiffer, and Arnold Freedman. These doctors are responsible for many high quality ‘bonus’ years with our parents; we can not repay them for the wonderful memories. Donations in memory of Evelyn and SIdney should be made to either DFCI or The Jimmy Fund.