Evelyn Jeanette Fugazzi, SCN, 93, died Tuesday, July 21, 2026, in Louisville, Kentucky. A Sister of Charity of Nazareth for 69 years, she served in education, pastoral care, and volunteer ministry.
Sister Evelyn was born Sept. 16, 1932, in Covington, Kentucky, to Charles Joseph Fugazzi and Ada Jane Lang Fugazzi. She grew up with her siblings Charles, John Leslie, Robert, Mildred “Millie,” Elizabeth and Dorothy. Though the family had limited means, their home was filled with music, creativity, faith and a deep appreciation for learning.
As a child, Evelyn often studied an advertisement in Sacred Heart Magazine showing a young girl with a horse at an academy. She confidently announced that she would go there someday. That childhood hope took an unexpected form when she arrived at Nazareth on Sept. 24, 1954, and entered the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. She received the religious name Sister Ancilla Marie and later returned to her baptismal name.
Before entering the Congregation, Sister Evelyn was the first lay teacher to serve with the SCNs at Immaculate Conception School in Newport, Kentucky. She said the Sisters’ simplicity and care for people experiencing poverty in that area helped guide her vocation.
Sister Evelyn devoted more than 30 years to education as a teacher and administrator. In Kentucky, she served at St. Frances of Rome School in Louisville, St. Patrick School in Covington, All Saints School in Walton, St. Ann School in Morganfield, St. Anthony School in Bellevue and St. James School in Elizabethtown. Her other assignments included St. Margaret Convent in Lowell and St. Brigid School in South Boston, Massachusetts; St. Matthias School in Columbus, Ohio; the Learning Tree in Raymondville, Texas; the Head Start program in Yazoo City, Mississippi; and a child development center in Belize City.
She remembered Morganfield as a favorite educational mission, recalling the warmth of the people, the support of the parish and a memorable school liturgy when “Jingle Bells” unexpectedly played during Communion.
Sister Evelyn also served as associate director of personnel for Nazareth Campus Services, and she led the Marycrafter Group, through which older Sisters created and sold handmade items to assist people in need.
In 1990, Sister Evelyn began a new chapter in healthcare ministry. She served in emergency room pastoral care at St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, before completing a year of Clinical Pastoral Education at St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Covington. She then returned to St. Vincent as a chaplain and later served at Flaget Memorial Hospital in Bardstown, Kentucky.
During nearly 13 years in healthcare ministry, she accompanied patients and families through illness, uncertainty, grief and prayer. She described this ministry as the privilege of helping people “stand in the light of Christ.”
After leaving hospital ministry, Sister Evelyn continued to serve. From 2003 to 2008, she volunteered as a receptionist at the Nazareth Health Office. She also chaired the Celebrating Mission and Ministry Committee, which preserved and published more than 262 stories about Sisters from the former Western Province.
Sister Evelyn brought humor, honesty and curiosity to community life. She enjoyed scrapbooking, music, animals, gardening, Italian cooking and quiet prayer. While living in Deatsville, Kentucky, with Sister Earline Hobbs, she enjoyed the wooded view from their back porch and prepared her homemade Italian sauce — known as “Fugazzi delight” — for guests.
In 2008, Sister Evelyn moved to Carrico Hall at Nazareth. She continued to pray, study, share stories and remain connected with the SCN mission around the world. She learned the phrase that Sisters were “retread rather than retired” and embraced the belief, “Wherever one of us is, we all are.”
Looking back on her life as a Sister of Charity of Nazareth, Sister Evelyn chose one word: “gratitude.” She trusted God’s guidance, recognized God’s humor and gave thanks for the Sisters, relatives, friends, students, patients and colleagues who shared her journey.
Sister Evelyn is survived by her nephews, extended family, and her SCN Community.
A green burial is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday, July 23, 2026, in Nazareth Cemetery. A memorial Mass will follow at 10:50 a.m. in St. Vincent de Paul Church. There will be no wake.