By Amy White
The Texas Catholic
On the wall of a large, newly renovated classroom at St. Monica Catholic School, a mural looms prominently over whiteboard tabletops and bins of building blocks, glue sticks, and crayons. In large, blocky letters, the wall art spells the word “STEAM” and, underneath that, it reads: “St. Monica STEAM Lab in Memory of Evie Carter.”
This Sept. 14 marked the third anniversary of the death of the St. Monica student who, despite her small stature, made a big impact on the community during her nearly six-and-a-half years of life. Today, Evie’s legacy of creativity and curiosity persists at the Dallas campus — both in the hearts of those who love her and in the STEAM lab, the school scholarship, and the annual school-wide celebration that all proudly bear her name.
Brilliant Evie
In a Carter family photo, a frizzy halo of hair frames the smiling face of a girl in white goggles, a matching lab coat, and a nametag that reads “Evie” in clear, black lettering. The costume was one of many that were constantly on rotation for the small child, but this set was special: It was her scientist outfit, and Evie had her sights set on being a science teacher someday.
Bright and inquisitive, Evie was a little girl of many interests: From ballet, jazz, and tap to swim, tennis, and soccer. Evie loved to create her own songs and stories, the latter of which she sometimes wrote and illustrated into small, handcrafted books. She enjoyed chess, too — initially concocting her own game rules, and consequently winning every match, before she learned how to correctly move a pawn or capture a queen. At six years old, she had ambitions to invent a shrink ray, with several prototypes already in the works.
Evie’s parents, Justin and Jennifer Carter, fondly remember their daughter’s appetite for learning: When her older sister, Ellison Carter, had spelling homework, the younger girl would often request that her parents give her a spelling test of her own, so she could study alongside her sister. Her mind, it seemed, was always at work: learning, testing, imagining, and creating.
“She just had a natural curiosity that was very infectious,” Justin said. “We have several vivid memories of her coming back (from school) and telling us about igneous rocks versus sedimentary rocks and telling us everything about bats.”
On her sixth birthday, the innovative little girl requested a themed celebration: Donning her lab coat and goggles, Evie marked the milestone by conducting science experiments alongside her friends, her parents recalled.
“She wanted to be a science teacher,” Jennifer said, “and her last birthday party, she wanted to have a science party.”
Less than six months later, on Sept. 14, 2023, Evie passed away after a brief illness. At her funeral, heart stickers and patches peppered the pews — pinned onto dresses, placed onto suit collars — as Evie’s friends, family members, classmates, and teachers filled the sanctuary of St. Monica Catholic Church to mourn the brilliant little girl who, though she couldn’t choose just one favorite color, had a favorite shape: the heart.
In loving memory
Three years after her death, Evie’s presence remains palpable on the campus where she was once a student, including in the St. Monica scholarship and STEAM lab that both bear her name.
It was just days after Evie’s death, her parents shared, when the Carters began to conceive of the Evie Carter Scholarship. The scholarship felt like a way to honor their daughter, the couple said, by meaningfully giving back to the school community that helped foster Evie’s inquisitive young mind.
“Obviously, our world was — it was a blur during that time,” Justin said, but “there were a lot of people that were wanting to be generous to our family at that time, and we just felt like the best thing that could be done with those gifts would be to establish something that could be meaningful and that could live on.”
In lieu of flowers, the family asked that loved ones contribute funds to the scholarship, which would offer tuition support through the St. Monica Endowment Trust to select fourth and fifth grade students each year; as a nod to Evie’s fervor for scientific discovery, recipients would be selected on the strength of STEAM-focused applications.
“Hundreds of people contributed (donations),” Justin said, “really from all walks of our life.”
St. Monica Principal Stephanie Garza, who helped get the scholarship on its feet during her first year as principal at the school, concurred, saying “I was helping write thank you notes to the different people that donated, and the list just goes on and on. There’s just so much love and support for this family.”
The first Evie Carter Scholarships were awarded in the spring following Evie’s funeral. In the years since, the scholarship has continued to benefit St. Monica students, including some who knew the bright young pupil personally.
“Some of the students who were awarded the scholarship were Evie’s peers that she sat next to and that knew her and walked the halls of St. Monica with her,” said Jennifer, who noted that Evie would have been in fourth grade this year. “For kids who know Evie to then get the scholarship in her name is really a beautiful thing.”
To honor Evie, the Carters also donated funds toward the St. Monica STEAM lab, a space dedicated to fostering in kindergarten through fifth grade students the same wonder and love of learning that their own daughter embodied so naturally. The school renamed the lab after the former student last year and, over this summer, expanded and renovated the space.
“They put a decal on the wall … ‘in loving memory of Evie Carter,’” Garza said. “It just makes your heart happy to see it.”
Angie Foster, a kindergarten teacher at St. Monica, said that the lab’s name offers teachers like her the opportunity to share stories about Evie with newer pupils as they walk into the creative space.
“She loved creating things, which is what I remember most about her,” Foster said. “I talk to the kids about it, and I say she was a student; she loved to build things and create; and so, we’ve named the lab after her in her honor. So, every time we go in there, we should think about her.”
“It’s incredible to know that such a young girl impacted us so much,” remarked another St. Monica kindergarten teacher, Teresa Skertchly, who fondly recalled Evie as a happy and playful child who loved to sing her favorite song, “King of My Heart,” at the top of her lungs. “It’s such a joy to see her name, especially in the STEM lab.”
A day for Evie
Dappled across posterboard signs; printed onto T-shirts and accessories; and stickered onto classroom crafts, the conspicuous presence of hearts throughout the St. Monica Catholic School campus on April 25 each year marks yet another way that the Dallas school continues to honor the former student: Evie Carter Day — an annual, school-wide celebration of Evie’s life and legacy.
“Every year for Evie’s birthday, you can drive by and see the hearts out,” Garza said. “It’s so beautiful to see all the kids that just jump out of the car in the morning, and they’ve got their heart shirts on.”
The day is an opportunity for those who love and miss Evie to reminisce about her and to pass on her legacy to younger students who did not have the chance to meet her.
“I still have a slideshow of her pictures; and so, I talk to the kids about why we’re celebrating,” Foster said. “I just hope that I can show them how much she loved building by showing them the pictures of the things that she created and then encouraging them to be like Evie in that way … to think outside of the box, be creative.”
For Evie’s parents, the day is a meaningful reminder that their daughter’s memory is still so treasured on the campus where she once walked the halls, chatted with friends, and sat at her desk to learn about bats, rock formations, and God.
“You don’t want people to forget the sparkle she had, and so it’s nice for people to acknowledge that they remember her and they still miss her and they still are here to support us when we need it,” Jennifer said.
“You want her to continue to live on in some way,” Justin agreed, adding, “She still does have that presence at St. Monica.”
Cutline for featured image: Jennifer Carter, left, and Justin Carter hold a framed photograph of their daughter, Evie Carter, at their home on Sept. 3. This Sept 14 marked the third anniversary of Evie’s death. (AMY WHITE/The Texas Catholic)
