A few days ago Evelyn died at the age of 89. At the moment I have a heart full of pain. I want to spend a few minutes helping you to get to know the incredible she was.
-Evelyn had to shortest performance gap of anyone I have ever known. That means that when she learned something emotionally or spiritually she immediately put it into practice. I learn things and gradually build it into my outlook and performance.
-There was a point in her adult life when she understood that she was no better than other people she had judged and made up her mind not to judge ever again. She made good on that promise she made to herself. I never heard her judge anyone again. It was not that she compromised her own moral stand but she gave all the credit for anything good in herself to god. If she did judge another person she immediately confessed it to god and repented.
-Some of you may think I am exaggerating because of her grief. I am not and anyone who knew her well at all would instantly understanding that I am not overstating things. This is all completely true.
Some of us have a need to do good deeds because it is important to our spiritual growth. Evelyn was different. She did good things because she was good. I doubt she even thought of the things she did as a good deed. She did good things because her nature to do good.
-My boyhood was tough because my beloved mom was filled with undealt with anger. Ruthie was very young but Judy and I were were her designated targets. Some times Judy just went to her room and avoided anymore mother pain than she had already endured. I felt it was my duty try to heal her pain. That meant I tackled her anger with of goal of healing her. Of course I failed and would end up exhausted and deeply wounded. When that happened I got on the phone to Evelyn. She was not intimidated at all by mom. Mom was intimidated by her and got unwilling, angrily quiet. When Evelyn left she stayed quiet for awhile out of fear that I would call Evelyn again.
-She was heart broken, as we all were when her son Steve died at 46. Steve was a person that used his wealth to help people. I was close to Steve and I had no idea the multitudes of people privately helped. When he died he set up his mom with a good bit of money. Evelyn took up the money and used it to help other people in order to allow Steves way of helping people to continue after his death.
Once I went to a dinner with her at her large Baptist church in Alexandria. The room where the dinner was large and seated about 300 people. At the back where Evelyn were seated was an open space. There was a boy in a wheel chair in that space. He was doing circles in his chair controlling the chair with his mouth. Evelyn left her dinner and spent maybe 20 minutes talking to the boy. It was hard for her to communicate with him because of his hampered speech. I did not think to go help him and neither did any of the 300 people seated in the room having dinner. Evelyn out od her nature automatically did it as soon as she noticed him. It was not a sacrifice. She loved the time she had with him.
I apologize for any mistakes I have made here. I just can’t bear to go back over it and edit it George
George Caywood 