Name: Mary Dimmett

Parish: Member of Good Shepherd Church, Evansville, for 41 years

Married, Number of Children: Wife of Ivan Dimmett (they will be married 58 years on Aug. 17); four children and five grandchildren.

Tell me three things about yourself that defines who you are. I volunteer, and I try to help other people. When I’m called, I try to do what I can at church and for my family. I’m always here for the children or the grandchildren.

What are some of your childhood memories? Going to a one-room school. There was a big, old furnace in the corner that was coal-fired. Times were hard. We had to wear hand-me-down clothes, and we grew most of our food. At Christmas, we would get one gift, plus oranges, which was a real treat. Usually, the only store-bought food we had were the staples, like four and sugar.

Where and when were you born? I was born Nov. 11, 1925 in Wabash County in Illinois. We lived on a small farm about five miles from Mt. Carmel. My father worked on the railroad and was out of town a lot. There weren’t any other Catholic families who lived near us, so it was difficult for us to go to the Catholic school in town. Instead, we walked a mile and a half to the country school. In 1937, when I was in the eighth grade, I came to Evansville to live with my uncle and aunt (Mr. and Mrs. Leo Kneer) so I could go to a Catholic school – St. Agnes. I made my First Communion there, and then I went back home for high school at Mt. Carmel. I came back to Evansville in 1944 for nurses’ training at St. Mary’s and been here ever since. I graduated in 1947 and was married the same year.

How did you meet your husband? We met through a cousin of his who was dating one of the nurses at the hospital. We went on a double date together.

What is your first memory of church? I remember going to church with my mother and father on Sundays. We had Lenten services on Wednesdays, and if my father was home, we tried to attend as many of those as possible. I also remember going to confession on Saturdays.

Who was your hero or someone you looked up to as a child? My mother. She was always there.

Who is your hero now? My mother – I still look up to her. She’s 99 years old. Right now, she is in a nursing home in Illinois. She can still answer most any question I have about the Bible. She still sews, collects stamps and right now, she is crocheting granny squares to make pillows for others in the nursing home.

What are your hobbies? Tole-painting, sewing, quilting and stamp collecting.

What are your memories of World War II? In high school, I worked for the ration board and helped give out stamps for sugar, coffee, gas and tires. Later, during nurses’ training, there was a shortage of nurses at St. Mary’s because so many women had enlisted or were going to various areas to help take care of the wounded troops. As students, we learned how to take care of the patients pretty quick because so many of the nurses were gone.

Where was your first job? In a laundry over in Mt. Carmel, folding clothes. I also worked in a restaurant while I was in high school. For most of my life, I worked as a nurse – at St. Mary’s in surgery or as an industrial nurse for Faultless and Shane Uniform.

What form does stewardship take in your life? How do you give of your time, talent and treasure to your parish? Years ago, I was active in PTA and Girl Scouts. I’m in the Altar Society and have been the Bereavement dinner chairman for several years. I still work the bingos and am currently working on the committee planning Good Shepherd’s 50th anniversary, which will be Sept. 11, 2005. I have received the Brute award for our parish.

What do you like most about being Catholic? I like that the church has a foundation of values that are always there, wherever you go. I think it is a real privilege to be a Eucharistic minister.

Who is your favorite saint? Mother Cabrini, who is the patroness of our Altar Society at Good Shepherd. She has done so much in our family. All of my grandchildren have her prayer card. My one granddaughter, who is in law school, carries the card with her all the time, and she says this helps her when she is taking a test. Through her intercession, we’ve been granted a lot of favors. My favorite religious item is my Mother Cabrini prayer card and relic.

Have you ever experienced a miracle or God’s intervention in your life? The biggest miracle was when my mother almost died during major surgery 15 years ago. She said she saw the light, but God wouldn’t let her come in because He still had things for her to do. 

What’s the best advice you can give someone else? To live your life so that you will be ready. We do not know when we will be called home.