Mary Helen Evans

Until the 2020 COVID-19 lock-down restricted travel, she worked at Fordham University in the Department of Conference Services at Lincoln Center. Her husband of 53 years, retired parole officer Colvin A. (Cal) Evans, died in 2023 in Toms River.

Mary Helen was predeceased by her parents, Ted and Eileen McElhone, and is survived by her siblings in Canada; Jim (Andrea), Ann, and John (Mike), sister-in-law Cynthia Evans Milazzo of Florida, nieces, nephews and many friends.

Mary Helen grew up in Toronto, Alberta and Ottawa. Earning a bachelor’s degree at Ottawa’s former St. Patrick's College and influenced by its Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) priests to pursue a life of service, she entered the graduate social work program at Fordham University. The school later employed her in admissions, and she worked in the Catholic Charities of New York network for foster care at Cardinal McCloskey School and Home for Children, White Plains, NY. Countless children were freed from dire circumstances due to Mary Helen’s commitment. After mentoring foster care social workers, she transitioned to adoption service agencies, conducted a private practice in home studies for adoptions and branched out into her second passion, catering. She supported the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York Historical Society, ballet and classical music and the Ocean County Artists’ Guild in NJ.

Married in 1969, Mary Helen and Cal lived in City Island, Gun Hill and Pelham Gardens sections of the Bronx. Parties at their row house on Westervelt Avenue featured much wine and Mary Helen's signature party dishes. After she bought into a co-operative, Tudor-style row house at Pomander Walk, the gated garden walk and designated landmark built in 1921, Mary Helen served on its board. For decades, she helped organize events on the Walk, from knitting circles to chili cook-outs to Bastille Day celebrations.

Despite grappling with the death of her husband, Mary Helen was upbeat about her plan to spend Christmas 2024 with her siblings in Montreal. The end came––sudden and unexpected––at a Toms River hospital, due to an undiagnosed condition. Ever a Canadian and bon vivant, she will be remembered at a 10 am mass at Saint Joseph's Church, Toms River, on January 22, 2025.