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Evelyn Urban
In Memory of
Evelyn L.
Urban (Leger)
1915 - 2017
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Obituary for Evelyn L. Urban (Leger)

Evelyn L.  Urban (Leger)
Evelyn (Leger) Urban, 101, passed away peacefully on Thursday, February 23, 2017. Born in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts on June 15, 1915, to Thomas and Emma (Landry) Leger, she was the loving wife of George E. Urban who predeceased her. She grew up at a time when many city streets, such as Dwight Road where she lived, were unpaved, when Model Ts were expanding personal transportation, and Greater-Springfield experienced significant economic expansion. When asked about her childhood, she would recount times playing jump rope, marbles, and hop-scotch, and memories of her father, who became one of the areas most well-regarded home builders, driving her to school in the back of his truck, picking-up other classmates along the way. She graduated from Cathedral High School in 1933 and entered the Mercy Hospital School of Nursing, graduating in 1936. She entered nursing prior to the advent of antibiotics or penicillin, when patient care was the primary function of a nurse, and she would retell this time with stories such as fresh treatment for tuberculosis patients that required keeping hospital windows wide-open in the winter while she provided care, bundled in a raccoon coat. Evelyn and her childhood next door-neighbor, George Urban, fell in love, got married, and spent their honeymoon in Lake Placid, New York where George had worked as a ski instructor at the Lake Placid Club. After living in Vermont for a short time they moved back to Springfield where they would settle and raise their five children while George spent his entire career in plastics research at the Monsanto Chemical Company. Although she was blessed with good health and unusual longevity that kept mentally alert to the very end, she nearly died of a brain aneurysm which sent her to the hospital where she received her last rites, and was rushed south to a specialist at Hartford Hospital where neurosurgeons saved her life. Evelyn would, at times, say that she lacked courage, and she would give examples such as being afraid to get in trouble as a youth, or her hesitation in following through on her desire to become a horseback rider. Yet, throughout her life she demonstrated the common courage that tests so many, from the untimely loss of her husband to a heart attack in the Blizzard of 1978, to the loss of her daughter to asthma attack at the age of 42, and the tragic death of her grandson who was a highly-experienced smoke jumper who died in an experimental training accident. Through all, her life was defined by family, friendship, and daily joy and curiosity. She maintained life-long ties to school-aged friends, fellow nursing students, and devoted neighbors. While her long life brought the sadness of outliving most of these friends, she had an expanding network of support from the children of friends, relatives, and eventually caregivers. She was predeceased by her parents, her brother, Roger Leger, her sister, Annette Culverhouse, husband, George, their son, Thomas Urban, daughter, Mary Balducci, and grandson, Mark Urban. She leaves her sister, Estelle Hurley of Longmeadow, daughter, Jean Brousseau of East Grafton, son, Frederic Urban of Toronto, and son, John Urban of Providence, in addition to two sons-in-law, Mario Balducci of Sterling and Larry Richards of Toronto, and two daughters-in-law, Pamela Urban of East Longmeadow and Sally Everett of Providence, as well as six grandchildren - Barbara Mancini of Shrewsbury, Elizabeth Newlands of Holliston, Martha Brousseau of Greenwich, Sarah Quaglia of Holyoke, Anthony Balducci of Los Angeles and Julia Blake of Mashpee and two step-grandchildren, Laura Williamson of Boston and Reid Williamson of New York City, and three great-grandchildren: Evan, Gavin and Okain, all of whom shared in their love for Evelyn and the model of a well-lived life she offered. Evelyn's children wish to thank all of the caregivers and friends who went out of their way to bring daily joy to their mother's remarkable life. A Mass of Christian Burial for Evelyn will be celebrated on Tuesday, February 28, 2017, at 11 am in the Chapel at St. Joseph's Residence Little Sister's of the Poor, 1365 Enfield St., Enfield, CT 06082. Relatives and friends are welcome to join the family beginning at 10:15 am until the time of the Mass. Burial and graveside services will be held in Lakeview Cemetery, 35 N. Main St. Upton, MA at 11 am on Wednesday, March 1, 2017. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to Little Sister's of the Poor, 1356 Enfield St., Enfield, CT 06082. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Leete-Stevens Enfield Chapels, 61 South Rd., Enfield. For online expressions of sympathy or directions please visit www.leetestevens.com
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