Evagene Shonkwiler, 89

Some say letter-writing is a lost art. But letter-writing was a profound pleasure for Evagene Shonkwiler, who spent her life giving to others, serving her family, and staying in touch through lively correspondence with a vast network of friends stemming back to childhood days. She died Thursday, Dec. 16, 2004, at her Hamilton home of complications related to Parkinson's disease. She was 89.

Evagene and her husband, Lincoln Neil Shonkwiler, who died in 2002, moved to Hamilton, in 1967, when they purchased the Ravalli County Bank. Evagene worked in cash management and public relations at the bank for 18 years and was a member of its board of directors until retiring in 2002. She was also active as an elder and a deacon of the First Presbyterian Church.

Church activity was a central aspect of Evagene's life; her first full-time job in Minneapolis was as secretary of the enormous Hennepin

Avenue Methodist Church, keeping track of its many members in the metropolitan area. "She was on the switchboard," said Evelyn Heath, a Minneapolis friend since high school days. "She knew everything about what was going on and was a part of it all."

The church's Sunday night youth program, The University of Life, attracted 600-700 young adults weekly. Out of that youth group, Evagene formed lasting friendships with other young women embarking on school, careers and marriage. "We didn't have a date every minute of the day," said Mrs. Heath, "so we did all kinds of things together on Saturday afternoons." These friends would eventually form the "Round Robin," a letter-writing group of astonishing longevity that helped them all to keep in touch as they passed through college, courtship and marriage, the births of their children, the maturing of their families, and the inevitable challenges and frailties of old age.

When World War II broke out, Evagene attempted to join the Red Cross but the petite girl was rejected because she didn't meet the minimum weight requirement. She then pursued a master's degree in social work at the University of Minnesota and worked in child placement services, for which there was high demand during the war years. A friend from the graduate school program, Geraldine "Gerry" Nilsestuen, was another lifelong friend who never lost touch. "She wore my wedding dress," said Mrs. Nilsestuen. "We were always on the same wave length. And luckily for us, our husbands also got along. We went on many trips together early in our married lives."

Evagene was born on Nov. 7, 1915, in Columbus, Ohio. She was the daughter of Ruth Detwiler Sanders and Charles Sanders. Ruth was well-known for her porcelain painting. Charles was a high school teacher and coach. The family moved around a lot when Evagene was growing up, to Oak Park, Ill., then to Milwaukee, Wis., and finally to Minneapolis, where Evagene attended West High School and the University of Minnesota. She met Lincoln Shonkwiler at the university and married him on Oct. 6, 1945.

The couple lived in Estherville, Iowa, for the first 10 years of their married life. They moved to Skokie, Ill., when Lincoln and a group of Chicago businessmen started the Skokie Trust and Savings Bank in 1957.

Evagene was a member of the PEO sisterhood for more than 50 years, most recently Chapter AF in Hamilton. At one time she served as president of the Hamilton branch of the American Association of University Women and of the Presbyterian Women. She was a lifetime

member of the Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital Auxiliary. She enjoyed playing tennis and doing water aerobics, and she derived great pleasure as a charter member of the Presbyterian Church's Memorial Bell Choir.

"She loved playing in that choir," said Mildred Brownlee, another charter member. "I still have a picture of the original group." When Evagene's mother died, she bought some bells for the choir's upper octave in her memory.

Evagene always expressed mixed feelings about her name, which was originally two words, Eva Gene. Because she was petite, she was often called "Tiny," a nickname she tolerated. But when a grade school teacher took to calling her "Little Eva," she persuaded her parents to change it to Evagene.

The family would like to extend its heartfelt thanks to an extraordinary group of care-givers who made it possible for Evagene to spend her last days at home in peace and comfort. Karen Ernst, Sharon Holmes, Lisa Shafer, Diana Malone, Anna Palin, Janice Sooy, Michelle Bundy and May Weldon - she could not have done it without you.

Evagene was preceded in death by her brother Rodney D. Sanders.

She is survived by daughter, Nancy Malitz, and her husband, Lawrence B. Johnson, of Detroit, Mich.; daughter, Barbara Lee and her husband, Tom Lee, of Kalispell, and son, Chuck and his wife, Niki Shonkwiler, of Hamilton. There are five grandchildren, Holli Paugh, and her husband, Harley, of Durham, N.C., Adam Shonkwiler of New York City, N.Y., Tim Shonkwiler of Hamilton, and Cori and Lori

Lee of Kalispell; and several nieces and nephews.

A visitation is planned for friends and family from 6 to 8 p.m. at Dowling Funeral Home, 415 South 2nd St., on Tuesday, Dec. 21. A memorial service, Rev. Janet M. Malone officiating, and reception are scheduled at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 23, at First Presbyterian Church, 1220 West Main St. The private family inurnment will take place at Riverview Cemetery in Hamilton.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials to a charity of your selection, or to the Bitterroot Public Library, 306 State Street, Hamilton, MT 59840 and Bitterroot Youth Home, 316 N. 3rd Street, Hamilton, MT 59840.

The arrangements are under the care and direction of Ronald Brothers with Dowling Funeral Home and Crematory in Hamilton.