Jean Reid Evans

Jean Reid Evans, 90, died peacefully on Monday, August 7, 2017 at Shannondale Maryville Health Care Center. Funeral services will be conducted Saturday, August 12, 2017 at 3:00 PM at the First United Methodist Church with Reverend Chip Hunter officiating. The family will visit with friends Saturday from 1:00 - 3:00 P.M. at the church. A private family interment will follow in Rose Hill Cemetery in Columbia. Oakes & Nichols Funeral Directors are assisting the family with arrangements.The family suggests memorials to First United Methodist Church Columbia, 222 West 7th Street, Columbia, TN 38401. Condolences may be extended online at www.oakesandnichols.com.Born September 15, 1926 in Chester County, Tennessee, Jean was the daughter of John and Mary Lee Reid. She grew up on the Ingraham family farm outside of Henderson and moved to Memphis in 1939 where she graduated from Treadwell High School and spent 3 semesters at Memphis State. She graduated from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville in 1948 where she was a member of Kappa Delta sorority, Mortar Board, Sigma Phi Epsilon. Of the hundreds of returning WWII vets at UT in 1945, she met Billy V. Evans who swept her off her feet. Jean and Bill were married at Highland Heights Methodist church in Memphis on July 24, 1948. They moved to Columbia after graduation; Bill taught vocational agriculture in Spring Hill and Jean taught elementary grades at Athendale outside Columbia. They moved to Spring Hill and raised their daughter Mary Margaret and son Reid in the close knit small town that Spring Hill was in the 1950s and early 60s. Jean was active in the Methodist Church in Spring Hill, the garden club, the bridge club, and the school - making friendships that lasted the rest of her life. Jean taught seventh grade and then Home Economics at Spring Hill High School. The family moved to Columbia in 1965 to be closer to Bill's work and Jean's new job teaching Home Economics at Central High School. In 1975, she was awarded a M.S. degree in Education from the University of Tennessee, Nashville campus. Jean was involved in many church and community activities including Mental Association, Clean Community Committee, Parkinson's Support group, retired teacher organizations, James K. Polk Memorial Association. She especially enjoyed the Cosmopolitan Literary Club as a member for more than 30 years. She took up needlework and belonged to the Cheekwood Chapter of the American Embroiderers Guild. She and Bill dedicated time, love, and lots of attention to granddaughters - Liesl and Gwen Eckhardt and Rebecca Evans. With her children and grandchildren living out-of-state, Jean and Bill thrived on the good friendships of so many neighbors, colleagues and friends young and old. They both enjoyed a garden, good books, interesting people, and current events. They enjoyed their own travels and the adventures of their grown children and grandchildren. After 53 years of marriage, Bill died in 2007. Jean's health began to fail in 2011. In 2015, she moved to Maryville Tennessee to be closer to her daughter. The family is grateful for the kind service and care she received at Lifecare in Columbia and at Brookdale Brown Creek Assisted Living and Shannondale Health Center in Maryville. She is survived by daughter Mary Margaret (Bob) Eckhardt of Maryville Tennessee, son John Reid (Kathleen) Evans of Raleigh, North Carolina, and granddaughters: Liesl Eckhardt of Beverly Hills, Michigan, Gwen Eckhardt (Jason) Skowronski of San Francisco, California, Rebecca Evans of Raleigh, North Carolina.