Monique Clarine

Monique Clarine passed away peacefully on October 17, 2025, in Chicago, Illinois, surrounded by family and loved ones. She was 90 years old.

Monique was born in Paris, France, in 1935 to parents who had immigrated from Kishinev, Bessarabia. Her early years were marked by both courage and resilience. Her father, a medical doctor with the French Army, was stationed in the Ivory Coast prior to World War II. Following the Law on the Status of Jews (Statut des Juifs), enacted by the Vichy government in 1940, he was dismissed from his post. Rather than remaining in the relative safety of West Africa, he returned to Toulouse, France, where he had studied medicine.

In 1941, Monique and her mother made a daring journey to join her father, crossing by train from German-occupied France into the unoccupied southern zone—an act forbidden to Jews and punishable by arrest. Miraculously, they succeeded. Her grandmother and uncle were not as fortunate; they were arrested during a later crossing attempt and deported to Auschwitz.

During the mass roundups of Jews in Toulouse in 1942, Archbishop Jules-Géraud Saliège issued his historic pastoral letter condemning the persecution and urging clergy to act. Monique obtained a false identity and was hidden in a convent, where she remained until the end of the war.

After liberation, her father was reinstated to his previous position, and the family moved to Man, in the Ivory Coast. In 1948, they made Aliyah to Israel and settled in Jerusalem. It was there that Monique discovered her calling - nursing. At just sixteen, without her parents’ knowledge, she enrolled in the nursing program at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem.

Her desire to learn and serve brought her to the United States, where she continued her studies at the Abbott Hospital School of Nursing in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Eventually settling in the Chicago area, Monique began her career as a surgical nurse at Evanston Hospital and later at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston—where she would devote an extraordinary 46 years of service until her retirement in 2013.

At St. Francis, Monique was part of a pioneering open-heart surgery team led by Dr. Thomas Murphy, helping establish the hospital as a leading center for cardiac surgery. Later in her career, she became a surgical nurse educator, mentoring and inspiring countless nurses with her skill, compassion, and enthusiasm. In 2011, she proudly became a certified trainer in Epic, the healthcare software system—proof that her passion for learning and teaching never waned.

Beyond her professional life, Monique lived with energy, curiosity, and joy. She was an avid cyclist and fitness enthusiast, a regular presence at the Evanston Athletic Club taking spin, aerobics, and Zumba classes. Monique and her partner Ralph spent much of their time in Aspen Colorado, where they enjoyed long hikes in the mountains.

Monique was also a great lover of music and the arts. She found joy and inspiration at Ravinia, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Symphony Center, the Aspen Music Festival and the Art Institute of Chicago. Her love of beauty, both in art and in people, infused every aspect of her life.

Monique will be remembered as a woman of extraordinary vitality, kindness, and love—a woman who dedicated her life to helping others heal, grow, and become their best selves. Her legacy lives on in every life she touched, in every patient she cared for, and in the hearts of all who loved her.

Monique is survived by her loving partner, Ralph Wanger; her son, David Clarine, and his wife, Susan Clarine; her sister, Florence Ziulkowski, and her husband, Dror Ziulkowski; and her niece, Hamoutal Ziulkowski.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to The Ark, https://arkchicago.org/