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The Heart of NDP
THE HeartOF NDP
FOREVER FRIENDS IN THE CLASS OF 1986
By Jennifer Caine ’86 Advancement Communications Specialist
Anne on vacation with her husband Mike and son, Alex.
Anne and Sharon Mowbray Ferris circa 1985
It’s a bit of a watershed moment in life, isn’t it? Losing a friend. That first classmate. Someone whom you may not have seen since that day in May when you left childhood behind for good. That person who, in your mind, stays forever young. For many sisters in the Class of 1986, that moment came in November 2018, when Anne Sybert Evans, the gracious girl who many remember as always smiling, lost her battle with pancreatic cancer.
As is the case for many NDP alums, Anne spent her final days as she lived her post-Hampton Lane life, surrounded by her “Forever Friends” from Notre Dame. That’s how this group of women defines itself. “We basically raised each other,” said Sharon Mowbray Ferris. “We knew what made each other tick. We talked about everything, but we never talked about one of us dying. That was unfathomable, unthinkable.”
The friends have seen each other through just about every life change there is. From graduations to weddings, to births and adoptions, to burying beloved parents, Sharon,
Mary Neil Corcoran Gathagan, Janine Blair Ptak, Trish Huey Jones, Rebecca Mills
Blanton, and Anne, all members of the Class of 1986, made a point to make time for one another, no matter the hand life dealt at the time. “We always used to joke that we would live together in the nursing home because we were definitely going to outlive our husbands,” remembers Mary Neil.
From birthday celebration trips to girls’ getaways “just because,” time together was always time well spent. Laughter was a given; support was the gift. That is why when the ladies got together in Bermuda in July of 2018 to celebrate their collective 50 th birthdays, Anne’s absence just did not seem right. She was going to have to miss the trip. Her father’s continued failing health left her with no choice. She had to stay back in Baltimore to care for him.
Yet there was more.
Anne and her Forever Friends
Sharon, a former ICU and gastrointestinal nurse, remembers getting the call. “Basically, I knew she had cancer before the words came out of her mouth, but hearing her sweet and steadied voice say them was the most disconcerting, shocking, and panicked moment of my life. It was the first time in my nursing practice that I hoped I was wrong about what my gut was telling me to be true.”
They did what women do. They put their lives, their own families, on hold for the moment. They attended doctor’s appointments, ran errands, cooked and cleaned so their friend could focus her energies on her health. Mary Neil, who is celebrating her 10 th year of working at NDP, felt she was in the best personal place to care for her friend. “Looking back on that time, Anne was never an inconvenience. I was so lucky to live close by and work at a place that understood what was happening in my life.”
Shortly before Thanksgiving 2018, Anne passed away. The loyal and true women who stood by her in life still grieve today for their friend. But they laugh, too. They remember the smile, that smile! They remember the carefree times they spent together as teenagers as well as the bumps and bruises associated with becoming an adult. Before she passed, they promised Anne they would look out for her young son. Today, they spend time with Alex. They check in on him and do their best to keep his mother’s memory alive. They host birthday parties and include Anne’s family in holidays. And while nothing in the world can replace her, they are carrying on as she would have—with a smile. g
WAS UNFATHOMABLE,
UNTHINKABLE. ” Send us your stories!
Do you have a story about NDP Sisterhood that goes beyond the walls of Charles Street or Hampton Lane? If so, we want to hear about it! Please send any The Heart of NDP (Stories of Sisterhood) ideas to Shawn Osmeyer ’88, alumnae engagement manager, at osmeyers@notredameprep.com
