In Memory of Sister Stephen Eswine

February 16, 1932 – October 10, 2019

Sister Mary Stephen Eswine, 87, daughter of William and Frances (Zachman) Eswine, was born Helen Hope Eswine on February 16, 1932 in Humboldt, Iowa. She entered the Sisters of the Presentation from Humboldt, Iowa, on June 5, 1950 and professed her perpetual vows on June 8, 1956.

Sister Stephen attended classes at Loras and Clarke Colleges in Dubuque, Iowa, and Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa. Her ministries took her to Charles City, Elkader, Ryan, Waukon, St. Columbkille (1965-1968), all in Iowa; Timberlake, South Dakota; and St. Dorothy in Chicago, Illinois, where she taught primary grades.

Sister Stephen retired to the Sisters of the Presentation motherhouse in 1987 and celebrated her 60th Jubilee in 2010. She loved caring for the plants and flowers on the grounds of Mount Loretto, making and repairing rosaries, prayer and community service. “Gardening is a great means of learning to live in the presence of God, for I know that when I am alone gardening, I am never really alone. It is God who creates and who gives the growth. I am only the assistant and any talent I have is God’s gift to me, but not just for me.”

Surviving is her brother, Robert, nieces, nephews, and the Sisters of the Presentation with whom she shared her life for 69 years.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Bernadine Schwenck and Joan Eswine and her brother Charles.

Memorials may be made to the Sisters of the Presentation, 2360 Carter Road, Dubuque, Iowa, 52001, or online at www.dbqpbvms.org.