Evelyn Babinchak

Sunrise for Mary Evelyn Babinchak was on November 18, 1931 in Hazel Park, Michigan. She was the youngest of two pairs of siblings and designed to be a playmate for her sister. She liked to say that she was the only planned child. Though she and Margaret Joan were close friends, square dancers, DAR members and long phone conversationalists later in life, that playmate thing didn’t work out quite as well. Her older siblings were, Lucille Roberta and William. Make note that all of the women including her mother, Ethel Floreine, were called by their middle names. She was also very close with her older sister. Together, they played a significant supporting role in building the dream home and keeping the family traditions. Roberta was the leader of the DAR in many ways but together the sisters travelled to the open fields to root around behind barns, find graves, get poison ivy, and document the family. They also travelled together in Europe. Her father, Robert, died young in her presence and was something that never stopped affecting her. Mom was a homemaker. She cooked full meals for every meal, packed lunches, and baked daily. The four food groups were always present on every plate, dessert always came, and ice cream was served at night. There was never a lack of sweets in the house. Today we think of a gadget freak as a person that collects technology; mom’s new technology was the latest in cleaning tools. If it was new, she tried it. She was proud of her three children, Susan, Amy and William. She raised each as if they were the first and only. She morphed herself to meet their individual needs and seemed to be a different person to each of us. While it could be frustrating, it was also her superpower. She recognized that we were all individuals. Mom graduated high school as Mrs. Waller and had a brief first marriage. Then in 1953, she married William Babinchak, an Iron Worker. She was very popular and collected a huge box of love letters from her suitors, including our father who continued to write her nearly daily from 1946 into the mid-1960’s while he travelled for his work at American Bridge. They lived in Roseville for 25 years in their GI brick ranch. Then they built their dream home in Harrison Township. As life progressed, she became a grandmother to Andrew, Andrea, Bill, Tori, William and Sam. Then a great grandmother to Evelyn, Emma and Gillian. She was able to spend significant time with each of them and passed on recipes and traditions. Sunset came to her on January 12th, 2022. That’s 01-12-22. She loved math so that mnemonic would not be lost on her. She also loved bookkeeping, Jeopardy, and spelling and came from a long line of college graduates including the women. She was smart and generous. There will be visitation Friday, January 14th from 1 – 4:00 pm at Wm. Sullivan & Son Funeral Home, 705 W 11 Mile Road (4 blocks E of Woodward), Royal Oak. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations to the Michigan Humane Society - Donate Now

Evelyn Babinchak

November 18, 1931 - January 12, 2022