Tina Sipula woke up one night in 1981 to find the women’s shelter and Catholic Worker House she helped introduce to Bloomington-Normal in flames.
But it wasn’t the end.
“I was crying in the driveway on my knees,” she said. “I knew we would rebuild again — and we did.”
Sipula said the community rallied around the shelter, and their efforts led to nearly 40 years of Clare House, which eventually became a food pantry.
Though she’s humble about her involvement. She credits Catholic Worker movement pioneer Dorothy Day for inspiring her, Chaplin Joe Kelly of Illinois State University’s Newman Center for introducing her to service, and the hundreds of volunteers who came through the shelter over the years.
“It wasn’t just me opening it, it was a whole community of people,” she explained.
Regardless of who gets credited, Sipula undeniably touched thousands in Bloomington-Normal who’ve experienced homelessness or food insecurity through her nearly half a century at Clare House, and after it closed in 2015 through Loaves and Fishes Soup Kitchen.
Janet Bantz Glavin worked with Sipula at Clare House and called her “a gift” to Bloomington-Normal.
“Tina has really influenced many people and help[ed] them to understand the important things about the power of community,” she said.
Bill Tolone volunteered with Sipula at Clare House for 15 years and still helps at Loaves and Fishes soup kitchen. He said Sipula’s commitment to the movement never ended.
Even when Sipula decided to close Clare House — a difficult decision, she said, but necessary to focus on her family — Tolone said she made sure people had somewhere to go. She typed up a list — which he still has — of all the food pantries in Bloomington-Normal.
“She came out… and handed this list out to people so they would know, even though she would not be available anymore, where they could go,” Tolone explained.
Then, there’s the soup kitchen, which has operated out of St. Mary’s Church for over two decades. Sipula no longer runs the operation, but she’s the one who made it happen.
Sipula can also be seen in a much less public way, Tolone said, adding that she’s the one who implemented the first little free library, and now, they’re everywhere.
It’s actions like this that Tolone said make Sipula unforgettable here.
“When someone really has an impact on the community, you only have to say their first name,” he said. “Everybody in Bloomington-Normal — and I mean that almost literally — knew about Clare House and knew Tina. And most importantly, the people who claim who came to Clare house knew her and knew her by her first name.”
