Maria Evelyn Gomez was born on Tuesday, August 31, 1943, in Pagosa Springs, Colo., the first child born to Juan Christobal (Chris) Gomez and Lila Sarah Padilla Gomez. Just a few weeks later, on Sunday, September 19th, Maria Evelyn was baptized into her faith family at Sacred Heart Church in Durango.
Over the next years, the Gomez family grew to include Evelyn’s sister, Melisia, and her brothers – Juan (the third), Louie, and Bart.
Evelyn began her formal education at Aztec Elementary in Aztec, N.M.; then for a few years she attended Sacred Heart Academy in Waterflow, N.M. For a year, the Gomez children attended Gobernador Elementary School in an effort to help keep the tiny school open, then she returned to Sacred Heart Academy in Waterflow. She began high school at Silverton High in Silverton, Colo., but her sophomore year brought her back to Sacred Heart Academy. Her faith journey continued as well, when Evelyn was confirmed at Sacred Heart Church on May 3, 1952.
Maria Evelyn entered as a postulant on September 7, 1961, with three of her former classmates. She began her novitiate years on August 14, 1962. It was on this date that she became known as Sister Sara Marie. She made temporary profession on August 15, 1964, and perpetual profession on August 15, 1969.
In Kentucky, she taught in Louisville, Marion County, Knottsville and Owensboro. In New Mexico, she taught in Farmington, San Fidel, and served as a parish minister and director of religious education in Flora Vista.
Sister Sara Marie Gomez, 78, died July 24, 2022, at Mount Saint Joseph, in her 60th year of religious life. The funeral Mass was at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, July 28, 2022, at Mount Saint Joseph. She was buried in New Mexico.