The late Helen Cuprisin was relentless when it came to protecting the environment and nudging those around her to do the same.
Cuprisin, who lived in Evergreen Park for decades, had a big garden, which she cherished. She was instrumental in getting the village to start a recycling program in 1990, protested the Robbins incinerator and its pollution, and instilled in her daughters a dedication to protecting the world around them.
“My mom was that kind of person,” said her daughter, Laura Wodarski. Cuprisin, who died in 2021, had two other daughters, Sandra and Debbie. Her husband, Michael, died in 2014.
She was also passionate about upholding the cultural icons of the community, including the Evergreen Park Public Library. She taught her daughters to value books, libraries and museums.
Cuprison, who owned Alphabet Soup, her own printing company, also designed the library’s newsletter, in addition to the Oak Lawn Public Library’s newsletter, and a newsletter for the Evergreen Park Chamber of Commerce, of which she was a member. She was on the Evergreen Park library board from 2006 to 2021.
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In 2022 the library started its Helen Cuprisin Earth Day Celebration. This year the festivities will start at 10 a.m. April 18 and include a craft swap, plant swap and seed exchange. Programs will include sessions on Herbal Treasurers and the value of various herbs, a chance to learn to make non-toxic, eco-friendly dryer balls and a talk by Mary Miriello, “Lasting Legacies of Women who Loved Nature.”
Another way her memory lives on at the library is through her daughter, Wodarski, who lives in Posen with her husband, Ken. She’s been an avid fundraiser for the library, along with her sisters, helping to fund a water fountain with bottle refilling station in Cuprisin’s honor. Wodarski said 12,200 plastic water bottles have been saved from landfills.
“Whenever we have the Earth Day celebration here, I always start crying,” said Wodarski, who was also brought to tears just talking about her mother. “It was so amazing, we didn’t realize how much of an influence she had on the library and vice versa.”
Wodarski credited her mom with inspiring a love of music, especially jazz, old movies, art and journaling, as well as gardening, a love which her sisters share. A favorite pastime for Wodarski growing up was hanging out at the library.
She also fondly remembers her mom’s sense of humor. Cuprisin brought her to the library to see Burt Reynold’s centerfold picture in Cosmopolitan magazine when it came out in 1972.
“She said, here’s a picture of a man,” recalled Wodarski laughing. “She just loved men.”
Frank Murray, director of the Evergreen Park Public Library, didn’t know Cuprisin for long, but remembers her impact and love for life. When he became director in 2021, the library staff organized a “Frank Fest” to welcome him. But a local paper ran the story as “Freak Fest,” which Cuprisin enjoyed (as did Murray).
“Helen comes in and says, ‘Frank, what are you doing over here at the library,” he recalled. “She thought that was a riot.”
He also said he sees Cuprisin in her daughter whenever she comes to the library.
“The personalities are strikingly similar,” Murray said. “I feel like it’s her in the building when Laura is present.
It’s a good legacy to represent, he said.
“She was a special person who touched everyone, everywhere she went,” said Murray.
Janice Neumann is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.