In some contexts, destiny and legacy can be strange bedfellows. From the distant past, Mary (Daley) McEvoy, Alice’s grandmother, together with her siblings, bequeathed a legacy that Alice embraced and emulated: the incomparable gift of faith. Before Alice was born, faith had imbued the lives of Daleys, Grants, Clelands—all nephews and nieces of Marcy McEvoy—and others to whom they were role models. A generation later, Alice and her brother, Francis, would without fanfare endorse their forbears’ convictions.

From her earliest years, Alice McEvoy was destined to transcend formative obstacles. As a pupil in a one-room rural school, her experiences galvanized her resolve to smile at intimidation—to convert it from a negative bane to a positive, motivational strength. Her precocious wisdom was a gift that, knowingly or unknowingly, she applied to the resolution of life’s challenges. Courageously and creatively, Alice learned how to detach the “dis” from disappointment and the “mis” from misfortune. Thanks to her enabling leadership, in concert with and in the tradition of her Community peers, the structure of Marianhill in Pembroke will long speak of the Grey Sisters’ altruistic commitments.

"LIVING IN TRUST, Alice’s book, will open a window into the how and wherefore of her extraordinary achievements. It will remind us that faith is the foundation of trust."

—Frank Turner, Retired Director of Education for the Renfrew County Catholic District School Board, grew up near Enniskerry next door to St. John the Evangelist Church. Like the McEvoys, the Turners were faithful and devoted parishioners of St. John the Evangelist Church.