Evelyn M. Samuelsohn was a woman ahead of her time.  She graduated from college with a degree in business and worked in her family’s wholesale food company in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania.  At 33, she married Harry J. Samuelsohn and moved to York, Pennsylvania.

Evelyn was an entrepreneur and one of the first women to enter the frozen foods business.  She founded Curly’s Frozen Food Company and marketed Curly’s beef and pork barbecue, and introduced Mrs. T’s pierogies under the Curly’s label.  She marketed her products on her sales route between York and Philadelphia.

Evelyn was a successful investor and was proud to be able to help other women learn how to properly invest in order to secure their futures.

Evelyn believed that it was important to give back to the community.  She funded the children’s waiting area at York Hospital and designated funds in her estate for the future expansion of the Pediatrics Department at York Hospital.  The majority of her gifts were made to organizations in York that are dedicated to children and helping those in need.

Evelyn eventually retired to Boca Raton, Florida, but her heart remained in York.  Evelyn died in 2007 at age 94 and is buried in York.

We at Women’s Journey are grateful to her niece, Melody Smith, for recognizing the value and significance of our program to help women, and for providing a bequest from the Evelyn M. Samuelsohn Trust to further our work.  We like to believe that Evelyn’s sincere interest in the welfare of women is expanded through the Women’s Journey movement.

Photograph courtesy of WellSpan Health, an integrated health system serving the greater Adams-York County region, of which York Hospital is a part.