(1917-2019)

When she died on January 2, 2019, Sister Charles Christine Uhnavy was only six weeks away from a real milestone – her one hundred and second birthday.

Eunice Uhnavy was born on February 14, 1917, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Charles and Olive (Spitzig) Uhnavy. Charles was born in the U.S. to German immigrant parents, while Olive was born in Ontario, Canada.

Charles learned how to be a tailor from his father, who owned a business called The House of Fashions, and he took over the business when his father died. In her life story, Sister Charles Christine remembered her dad as a very good tailor who specialized in women’s clothing and especially liked to work on furs. She also recalled that he once made a cassock for Father Charles Coughlin, the noted radio priest who pastored the Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, Michigan, the Uhnavys’ parish.

Charles and Olive had four children in all: Vivian, Eunice, Arlene, and Charles. After Vivian and Eunice were born, the family moved to Detroit, where Arlene was born, and in 1926 they moved to Royal Oak, where Charles came into the family.