November 5, 2025

Back to Our Beginning: A Conversation with Sister Eve Kavanagh

DES MOINES, IOWA  --  48 years ago, Sister Eve Kavanagh changed the state of Iowa forever when she introduced the unheard-of idea of hospice care to the city of Des Moines.  From her hands sprang Hospice of Central Iowa – now part of EveryStep.  We continue to honor her legacy through the names of our Kavanagh House on 56th Street and our main office at the Bright Kavanagh building on Easton Boulevard. 

It has been nearly a decade since Sister Eve last visited the state of Iowa and the Kavanagh House.  After losing touch with her over the years, EveryStep was able to recently reconnect with a now reclusive Sister Eve via Zoom call.  

Her hearing is mostly gone now; and she admits that her memory of her long life is fading as well.  But more than 40 years after leaving Iowa, she says there are some things she’ll never forget. 

“What I remember about Iowa is that the people are so marvelous,” she told us as she reached into her mind for memories buried for decades, “They listened, they cooperated, and we worked together.  It was a very satisfying experience.  It wasn’t just me; it was everyone I worked with.” 

Through some online sleuthing, we found Sister Eve living in a retirement home in upstate New York and organized a video call with her from our offices in one of the buildings named in her honor.  That came as a surprise to her. 

“Really?  It is?  Like my Kavanagh?” she asked as we started our conversation, “How about that!” 

While she was initially foggy on memories of her namesakes in Des Moines, the stories quickly came flooding back as she walked farther down memory lane. 

“Des Moines?  I was there for three years working. But I can’t remember what it was.  Hospice, I think.  Yes.  It was,” she told us as a smile started to spread, “I haven’t thought about that in years, but I remember it was easy because the people were so good.” 

Sister Eve arrived in Des Moines in 1977, bringing with her the new idea of hospice care for those approaching the end of their lives.  Her own introduction to hospice had come just a few years prior.   

“(Hospice) was new to me.  I’d heard about it in England when I was there,” Sister Eve says, “I had worked in a hospice in England and then we began one in Dublin before we came to America.”  Sister Eve would bring her training and understanding of hospice with her to America and Des Moines. 

“When I was asked about it (in Iowa), I said the best thing to do is a hospice.  Because, with a hospice, you don’t need a building or metal – it’s the people who make the hospice - not the stones,” Sister Eve told us, “Once we explained what it was – that there was no complicated building – it's what the people did and how they did it and did it together.  The people in Iowa understood that very well.” 

“We emphasized that the best way we’ve done it is in people’s homes.  You didn’t take someone from home to somewhere else.  You went to their homes to do hospice care.  It worked very well ... The people in Des Moines really lapped it up.  They weren’t frightened.  They were delighted to be able to take care of people in their home.” 

While finding volunteers to join her crusade proved easier than expected, Sister Eve says it was another story when it came to convincing friends and family members that they had the strength to take care of their own loved ones. 

“At the very beginning, people were nervous and I’d say: ‘you’ll find it’s easy enough because you’re doing it without even knowing you’re doing it’ ... The amazing thing about taking care of your own people who are dying is, once you get over your fear, they just know how to do it.” 

“Every patient had a registered nurse, but they might be the ones doing the least work,” Sister Eve told us, “With each patient ... we had a group of friends and family we helped organize ... With every family, whatever route they took, they decided.  We gave them the skills, otherwise they just do whatever.” 

“Some people would start and say they can’t do this.  I asked why, and they said they were frightened.  I told them to do what you can and don’t worry after that ... You don’t have to worry about what you’re doing, just be friendly.  We don’t want you to change your personality.   If you have the wrong personality, they’d know by now,” Sister Eve said with a hearty laugh, “They learned pretty soon that they don’t need to be a skilled nurse, they just need to be a friend.” 

After three years in Des Moines, Sister Kavanagh’s mission called her to New York City – where she found herself homesick for Iowa. 

“At first, I remember thinking: ‘Gosh, this is New York, how do I do this here?’  In Des Moines you had all these nice little neighborhoods,” she remembers, “Then I discovered in New York that it is just as neighborly a place, too.  And wherever there is neighborliness, they can do hospice ... Everywhere is full of neighbors.  But you don’t know it until you need them - and then it begins to work.” 

Sister Eve stayed in New York, working in hospice care and inner-city clinics before retiring in the Albany area.  She’ll be 88 on December 23rd.  

Her message to EveryStep employees and volunteers - and those working in hospice care anywhere - is to continue to take care of the whole family. 

“I would say to hospice care workers ... what the family needs to do is do it their way and you are there to support ... Family is family, they don’t change.  You just give them the skills that they don’t have that they need.  The families know how to do the rest.  They just know.”