Betty Louise Evans

Betty Louise Howard Evans was born on April 12, 1931, and she left this life on January 3, 2017, at the age of 85.
She was preceded in death by her beloved husband Bill, her parents (Curtis and Lida Mae Howard), three siblings (Robert, Jo Ann, and Nadine Howard), one grandchild (John Brian Evans), twin great-grandchildren (Camille and Knox Dacus), and a host of aunts and uncles.
Betty is survived by her 6 children (Lynn Evans of Bristol, PA; Beth VanRheenen of Washington, MI; Myra Hale of Ruston, LA; Anne Carroll of Powder Springs, GA; Camille Warren of Kennesaw, GA; and Howard Evans of Philadelphia, PA), 8 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren.
Betty (also known as “Beez,” and, later in life, as “MomMom”) was born and reared in Texon, an oil town in West Texas, that she fondly described as a tight-knit community. It was also in West Texas that her Christian life began. In June 1946, at the age of 15, she was the first in her family to name Jesus Christ as her savior, and her mother and father soon followed. Betty was thrilled with their new lives in Christ, which “changed completely because the Lord touched our lives in every aspect.”
In 1950, Betty graduated from Reagan County High School in Big Lake, Texas. She loved learning and she loved competing, a combination that resulted in her being valedictorian.
Also in 1950, Betty married Bill Evans, the love of her life. Their family—2 boys and 4 girls—was their greatest source of happiness and pride. Her first 5 children are biological, and Howard, number 6, was chosen through adoption. Betty considered rescuing two-year-old Howard from a Philadelphia slum the crowning achievement of her life.
Bill shared Betty’s love for God, Christ Jesus, and His church, and he felt called to the Northeast to join a small congregation even though his degree was in Mechanical Engineering, not ministry. Thus, in December 1960, Bill obtained employment with General Electric in Philadelphia, and he and Betty moved to Pennsylvania, worshiping first at the Levittown Church of Christ and later at the Valley Road Church of Christ in Warrington, one they helped to establish. Their love for God was the primary motivating factor of their lives.
When Betty’s husband, Bill, was 45, he had a major heart attack. Although he was able to resume a full life, he and Betty realized that they needed to be prepared in the event of another health crisis, so at the age of 40, Betty was employed outside the home for the first time, working for Rohm and Haas, a major chemical company headquartered in Center City Philadelphia. Though she began as a clerk processing Bills of Lading, her quick intelligence and hard work soon led her to become the head of the company’s Import/Export Department.
As Bill had feared, he had a second heart attack in 1974, and he died at the age of 48, leaving Betty a 43-year-old widow with 4 children still at home. She was devastated but not defeated. In fact, she often said that the 3 years between his heart attacks was a gift from God that allowed her to prepare for being single. She continued to enjoy her work and saw to it that all 6 of her children finished college. She began to travel extensively, and she continued to delight in what she called her “wonderful family.”
As the years passed, Betty welcomed her children’s spouses—Dierdra Douglas Evans, Mark VanRheenen, Ken Hale, Ed Carroll, and Dave Warren. A great joy in her life was her 8 grandchildren: Bill Evans, III, of Bristol, PA; Danielle and Danae Evans of Atlanta, GA; Sara Dacus of Searcy, AR; Anne Nichols of Shelby, MI; Dylan Jones of Brentwood, TN; and David and Allison Carroll of Powder Springs, GA.
Although Betty suffered terrible losses, especially her sisters who died as toddlers and her beloved husband, she did not allow her losses to define her. Instead, she was defined by love: her love for God and Jesus Christ, her love for her family, and her love for others. She was an extraordinary woman who will be deeply missed.
Betty’s memorial service will be held at the Valley Road Church of Christ, 978 Valley Road, Warrington, Pennsylvania on Saturday, January 14, 2017. Family visitation will be at 9:30 a.m. and the memorial at 10:30 a.m. with interment to follow at Hillside Cemetery in Roslyn. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.