Ethyll (Henry) Call ’67 remembers Viterbo for its friendly, close-knit community that reminded her of Viroqua, the small farming town 30 miles southeast of La Crosse where she grew up. She also remembers how a Catholic, Franciscan education shaped her values and character.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and minors in English and education. Call enjoyed a 30-year career with General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) and retired in 2000 as the manager of a collection office. Since retiring, she completed a four-year program with the Catholic Biblical School of Denver and began leading a Bible study program at her parish.
“I appreciated Viterbo’s liberal arts education because it prepared me to listen and gave me background in many different areas,” she said.
Meeting people from other cultures broadened her world views while religion courses expanded her faith. “I feel religion helped me become the adult I needed to be.”
Viterbo was a women’s college then, and the Franciscan Sisters’ academic and life lessons influenced Call’s experiences. She shared how Sister Celestine singled her out to explain her final exam answers to the entire class or lose her A grade. “I rarely spoke out in class but quickly realized I needed to because I did not want my grade lowered.” That lesson stayed with her. “It made me realize that my answer or my ideas were as valid as anyone else’s,” Call explained. “That reinforced my sense of worth.”
The Second Vatican Council was in progress, and the changes they initiated impacted campus. When students returned from winter break, they discovered that some Sisters, their teachers, had left the Franciscan Order. “It was quite a shock,” she said. “The Sisters did modify their habits, and our school parish became a testing ground for implementing some of the changes from the Council. At daily Mass, different students were invited to read the scripture aloud in English. It was an interesting time.”
Civil Rights activist Medgar Evers was assassinated in 1963, and Call joined other college students to march from Viterbo to UW-La Crosse. “That was an interesting experience.”
She and her friends had fun attending dances at Fort McCoy at the invitation of the USO. “We filled three buses of excited girls,” she remembered. “The numbers tapered off as the college girls met boyfriends at the dances,” she said. “That memory always brings a chuckle.”
Call lives near Castle Rock, CO. She and her husband enjoyed friends, family, and traveling. A favorite destination was Machu Picchu, a remnant of the Inca Empire in the Andes Mountains in Peru.
Sister Bernyne was her French teacher and dorm leader. They stayed in touch, and after she retired, Call joined Sister Bernyne’s group travels several times.
Call was married to Marion Bean for 20 years before his passing. She and Larry Call, who passed in 2026, were married 19 years. She enjoys six stepchildren, 14 grandchildren, 11 great grandchildren and 3 great-great grandchildren.
Several of her nieces and nephews are also Viterbo alumni.
