ezelle evans
1936-2005
Life Story
Early Life in Mississippi
Ezelle Evans was born in early February 1936 in Mississippi to Albert Evans and Francis Wheaton Evans. Surviving records differ regarding his precise birthplace, with Laurel in Jones County appearing in some records and Newton appearing in others.
Ezelle was born into the large Evans family whose roots extended through the Lawrence community of Newton County. His father, Albert, had children from an earlier marriage, while Ezelle was among the children born to Albert and his second wife, Francis.
By the 1940 Federal Census, four-year-old Ezelle was living with his parents in rural Newton County. Among the younger children in the household were his sisters Rosie Mae and Gertrude.
As the family continued to grow, Ezelle became part of a large household of brothers, sisters, and older half-siblings whose lives would eventually extend far beyond rural Mississippi.
From Mississippi to South Florida
Like many members of his generation, Ezelle eventually left Mississippi in search of opportunities elsewhere.
His journey took him south rather than north. While many African Americans from Newton County migrated to industrial centers such as Chicago and Detroit, Ezelle established his adult life in South Florida.
There he found steady employment with the City of Coral Gables Public Service Department, where he worked as a tree surgeon and foreman.
Tree work required considerable physical skill and carried significant risks. As a foreman, Ezelle also held responsibility beyond the physical labor itself, helping oversee the work performed by his crew.
His employment with the city became an important part of his adult life and provided the foundation for a career in public service that continued until his retirement.
Marriage and a Large Blended Family
On July 25, 1975, Ezelle married Evelyn Jane Robbins in Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Together they became the center of a remarkably large blended family.
Family and obituary information identifies Ezelle as father and stepfather to five biological children, four stepchildren, and seven adopted children, in addition to numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
His family therefore extended well beyond biological relationships. Adoption and step-parenthood enlarged the household and made Ezelle a father figure to children who entered his life through several different family relationships.
Retirement and a New Home in Hawthorne
Following his retirement from the City of Coral Gables, Ezelle eventually settled in Hawthorne, Florida, where another important chapter of his life developed.
His retirement did not mean withdrawal from community life. Instead, much of his time and energy became centered around Zion Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church.
The church became one of the clearest expressions of Ezelle’s life of service.
Faith and Service at Zion Hill
Ezelle was an active member of Zion Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church, where he served the congregation in numerous capacities.
His church responsibilities included service as:
- Head Deacon
- Sabbath School teacher
- Pathfinders leader
- Community service worker
- Landscaper
These responsibilities reveal the variety of ways Ezelle contributed to his congregation.
Some involved formal church leadership. Others involved teaching young people or serving the surrounding community. Even his landscaping work drew upon the skills he had developed during his professional career.
His years as a tree surgeon and public-service employee therefore found another expression in retirement as he used his experience to care for the grounds of his church.
Those who remembered Ezelle described him as having a warm and sincere nature, suggesting that his service was remembered not simply for the positions he held but for the way he interacted with those around him.
Death and Burial
Ezelle Evans’s life ended unexpectedly on June 26, 2005, at the age of sixty-nine, following injuries associated with a motor vehicle accident.
His funeral services were held at Zion Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church, the congregation where he had devoted so much of his later life to service.
He was laid to rest in Gordon Chapel Community Church Cemetery in Hawthorne, Florida.
Legacy
Ezelle Evans’s life carried one branch of the Evans family from the rural communities of Mississippi to South Florida.
Born into Albert and Francis Wheaton Evans’s growing household during the Great Depression, he eventually left Mississippi and established an adult life centered on work, family, and service.
His career with the City of Coral Gables represents an important part of that story. From tree surgeon to foreman, he spent his working years contributing to the maintenance and care of the community in which he lived.
After retirement, the same spirit of service continued at Zion Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church, where he served as a deacon, teacher, youth leader, community worker, and landscaper.
Perhaps the breadth of his family provides another measure of his life. Ezelle’s household eventually encompassed biological children, stepchildren, adopted children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
His story also adds another dimension to the migration history of the Evans family. Not every descendant who left Newton County followed the familiar Mississippi-to-Chicago or Mississippi-to-Detroit routes of the Great Migration. Ezelle’s path led from Mississippi to Florida, where he built his career, raised his family, and became deeply involved in his church community.
When he died in 2005, his final resting place was no longer in the Mississippi community where his life began, but in Hawthorne, Florida—the community that had become home during the final chapter of his life.
Resting Place
Gordon Chapel Community Church Cemetery in Hawthorne, Florida.
Photos/Albums
Sources
- 1940 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, population schedule, Albert Evans household; National Archives microfilm publication T627. Four-year-old Ezelle Evans was enumerated in the household of his parents, Albert and Frances Evans, along with other members of the family.
- “Ezell Evans,” Palatka Daily News (Palatka, Fla.), July 2, 2005, obituary. The obituary identifies Ezelle’s birthplace as Laurel, Mississippi, and records his age as sixty-nine at the time of his death.
- Florida Marriage Index, Miami-Dade County, Florida, Ezelle Evans and Evelyn Jane Robbins, July 25, 1975.
- “Ezell Evans,” Palatka Daily News, July 2, 2005. The obituary identifies him as retired from the City of Coral Gables Public Service Department, where he worked as a tree surgeon and foreman.
- “Ezelle Evans,” The Gainesville Sun (Gainesville, Fla.), July 2, 2005, obituary. This notice likewise identifies him as a retired foreman and tree surgeon with the City of Coral Gables and states that he had moved to Hawthorne from Miami approximately seventeen years earlier.
- “Ezell Evans,” Palatka Daily News, July 2, 2005. The obituary describes Ezelle as a faithful and dedicated member of Zion Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church in Hawthorne, where his service included work as a landscaper, head deacon, Sabbath School teacher, community service worker, and involvement with the Pathfinders.
- Ibid. The obituary remembered Ezelle as quiet, warm, caring, and sincere, and as someone willing to help others.
- Ibid. Survivors included his wife, Evelyn Evans; five biological children; four stepchildren; seven adopted children; twelve siblings; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
- Ibid. Ezelle died on June 26, 2005, following a motor vehicle accident. Funeral services were scheduled for July 3 at Zion Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church, with Elder Eddie G. Hall Jr. and Elder I. L. Harrell conducting the service. Burial followed in Gordon Chapel Cemetery in Hawthorne, with Smith’s Funeral Home handling the arrangements.
- Research Note: Two contemporary obituaries differ regarding when Ezelle Evans moved to Hawthorne, Florida. His July 2, 2005, obituary in the Palatka Daily News states that he moved to Hawthorne in 1958 after retiring from the City of Coral Gables. However, The Gainesville Sun, also published July 2, reported that he moved to Hawthorne from Miami seventeen years before his death, placing the move around 1988. Because Ezelle would have been only about twenty-two years old in 1958, and the Palatka account connects that date with his retirement, the 1958 date may represent a reporting or typographical error. Until another record establishes the date, the discrepancy should remain noted.
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