Noreen Evensen

Noreen Alyce Evensen, a resident of Barberton, Ohio, slipped away quietly on July 15, 2020. Noreen was born in Madison, Wisconsin on February 3, 1951, and spent most of her life in the state of Illinois. She graduated from Holy Child High School in Waukegan, Illinois, where she shared honors with another student as the top Latin and religious studies scholar. Noreen earned scholarships to attend Northern Illinois University at Dekalb, Illinois, where she studied anthropology and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree. After college, she worked as a library assistant at the University Library at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Garnering attention as a detail-oriented researcher, she applied and was accepted into the prestigious Masters of Library Science program at the University of Illinois, earning her Master of Library Science degree. Sometime later, Noreen joined Columbia College in Chicago, Illinois as a staff librarian. When China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, travel opened to western professional groups. Noreen traveled to China with The American Library Association, visiting university libraries, research institutes, and local public schools. Her China trip lit the fire for Noreen's love of international travel taking her to many countries in Europe, Central America, Mexico, and Canada. Noreen never married nor had children. In her later years in Barberton, she turned her attention to activities at her church, reading with her local book club, learning Greek, and writing exquisite haiku poems. We celebrate Noreen's unique life just as we celebrate the extraordinary sighting of the comet "Neowise," clearly visible in the northern night sky on the day of her passing. Noreen is preceded in death by her beloved mother, Rose Catherine Pfeifer Evensen, and her father, Dr. Norman Alfred Evensen. She is survived by her two sisters, Maribeth Rose Evensen-Hengge (Alvan), Patrice Fisher (Brian), devoted niece, Caitlin Rose Evensen Hengge, and her nephew, Neal Norman Evensen Hengge (Samantha Beirne). Noreen had special friendships with her lifelong mentor, and protector, ninety-three-year-old cousin, Alice Conway Waldo, and many cousins as well as friends in Barberton. Noreen will be sorely missed.