Plan for the Future
On July 8, 2024, Evelyn M. Schenack passed away quickly at her long-time Springfield home. Born in Newark, NJ on July 29, 1944 to George and Wilma Schenack, she was the third of their four children. The family moved to Springfield while Evelyn was in middle school and she graduated from Jonathan Dayton Regional High School. Evelyn continued to live in the same house until her passing, three weeks short of her 80th birthday. She was a fixture on the block and had a reciprocal caring relationship with many of her neighbors.
After high school, Evelyn worked for several companies in different office capacities, including Summit Medical Group records department, Magnetronics, Inc. in Union, and Radio Holland in Kenilworth. She eventually got to fulfill a lifetime joy of working with children when she taught the preschool class at The Learning Experience in Summit. She took an early retirement in order to care for her ailing mother at home and did a selfless job in doing so for five years until her mother passed.
A devoted Christian and church member, Evelyn was very active in the Springfield Emanual United Methodist Church through most of her life and continued to do so after their merger with the Kenilworth Community United Methodist Church. Throughout her life she was a member of the United Methodist Women, served on numerous boards, worked with the children, and sang in the choir. When she was no longer able to physically attend services, she maintained her attendance with the church’s phone ministry and stayed in close contact with her pastor and fellow congregants. Many of her longtime friends are “sisters in the faith.”
Family was an essential part of Evelyn’s life. She had strong opinions and advice, asked for or not, but always was interested in the events and needs of her family. She enjoyed music, playing pinochle, attending the Paper Mill Playhouse for many years as a subscriber, and she never found a piece of chocolate that didn’t call out to her. The telephone was not only her lifeline to the world, but a source of much pleasure to her as she literally spent hours on the phone catching up with friends and family.
Evelyn was pre-deceased by her parents George and Wilma (Christiansen) Schenack, her sister Doris Holler, and her brother George Schenack. She is survived by her beloved sister Irene Kirchner, her dear sister-in-law Judy Schenack, and seven nieces and nephews: Al Holler (Nancy), Alice Dietze (Jim), Dolores Handy (Tim), Daniel Kirchner (Robin), Rose Scogno (Doug), William Kirchner (Josie), and Jacquie Mahon. She also is survived by nine grand-nieces and grand-nephews and a multitude of loving friends and neighbors.
