Evelyne M. Karim

Evelyne M. Karim Resident of Walnut Creek Evelyne M. Karim (n‚e Bongrand) born June 19, 1920, in Dijon, France, died June 29 in Walnut Creek. The daughter of a French lawyer, Evelyne was in one of the first generations of teachers in Europe to be trained in Montessori method. As a young teacher during the German occupation of France, she helped Jewish orphans find homes after their parents were sent to concentration camps. She later taught French to American soldiers stationed in France. In 1947, Evelyne traveled to the U.S., where she landed a job teaching Montessori pre-school at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. While in Chicago, she met and married Alexander Karim, an engineer and recent immigrant from Iran. After their first son was born, they moved to California, settling in Berkeley then Walnut Creek, where they raised their six children. Evelyne taught Montessori school for over two decades in the East Bay and was a founding teacher of the first Montessori pre-school in Lafayette. A resident of Walnut Creek for nearly sixty years, she was active in the community, serving as PTA president at Walnut Heights School and later volunteering at the Mt. Diablo Peace Center. In addition to her enormous generosity and kindness, she had a keen intellect and a deep curiosity about the world. She was a talented artist and craftsperson, who also loved gardening and cooking. Her French apple and berry tarts were legend among friends and relatives. Evelyne was most passionate about her ceramics and clay arts. She was a longtime member of the Walnut Creek Clay Arts Guild, where she had been enrolled in the first studio class ever offered, and was a fixture there for forty years until the very last days of her long life. She is survived by her six children: Tallis, Avesta, Adlai, Zander (Laura), Felix (Libby), and Persis (Craig); her step-daughters Cima (Tierdad) and Lily (Saeed); twelve grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband and her grandson. A memorial service is planned for Sunday August 7 at 10am. Please contact Persis Karim at 510-644-2054 or persisk@yahoo.com for details. In lieu of flowers, donations in her honor are requested to be made to the: Evelyne M. Karim Commitment to Community Scholarship Fund, c/o Clay Arts Guild P.O. Box 543 Walnut Creek, CA 94596 OR The Art and Writing Challenge Mt. Diablo Peace Center, 55 Eckley Lane Walnut Creek, CA 94596.