hellean denise evans turner
1964-1998
Life Story
Growing Up in Lawrence
Hellean Denise Evans was born on June 27, 1964, in Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi, a daughter of Curley Evans, Sr. and Daisy Bell Thompson Evans. Although born in Jackson, Hellean grew up in the Lawrence community of Newton County, where her childhood and adolescence can be followed through a series of local newspaper records.
One of the earliest surviving glimpses of Hellean comes from her elementary-school years. As a fourth-grade student in Newton, she was photographed with several classmates displaying certificates they had earned after completing a six-week educational television series on foods and nutrition called “Mulligan Stew.” The program was sponsored by the Mississippi Cooperative Extension Service, with classroom instruction provided by science teacher Mrs. Allit Jenkins.¹
The photograph is valuable for more than documenting a school activity. It preserves an image of Hellean as a child, years before the later newspaper accounts of her high-school activities and adult life.
School Years and Special Olympics
By the late 1970s, Hellean was attending Newton High School, where she participated in activities that brought her name into the local newspaper.
On January 26, 1979, Newton High School’s Special Services Department participated in the Area V Special Olympics Basketball Tournament. The basketball games were held at Meridian Junior College, while the ball-handling and dribbling competition took place at Kate Griffin High School.
Hellean was among the Newton students who competed in the ball-handling competition. The Newton Record reported that students had practiced for several weeks in preparation for the event.²
This newspaper account provides a specific record of Hellean’s participation in school athletics and the Special Olympics program during her teenage years.
Homecoming and High School Activities
Hellean continued to participate in school life as she grew older.
In 1980, she was selected as one of the maids on the Newton High School Homecoming Court. A surviving photograph of the court identifies Hellean among the students chosen that year.³
Another opportunity came through the Ever Ready 4-H Club of Lawrence. In the summer of 1982, the club announced plans for a trip to Washington, D.C., from July 26 through July 31. The itinerary included the White House, Kennedy Center, National Zoo, and Congress while it was in session.
Hellean Evans was specifically named among the club members who were not pictured in the newspaper photograph accompanying the announcement.⁴ The article therefore establishes her association with the Lawrence 4-H organization; it does not, by itself, establish whether she ultimately made the Washington trip.
Newton High School Graduate
In the spring of 1983, Hellean reached an important milestone.
The Newton Record announced that Newton High School had seventy candidates for graduation that year. Commencement exercises were scheduled for May 20 at E. L. Morgan Field, and Hellean Evans appeared among the students listed as candidates for graduation.⁵
Her obituary later independently described her as a graduate of Newton Municipal High School, confirming that she completed her secondary education.⁶
Taken together, the newspaper records provide an unusually detailed picture of Hellean’s school years: a fourth-grade nutrition program, Special Olympics competition, the Newton High School Homecoming Court, participation in the Lawrence 4-H organization, and ultimately graduation from Newton High School.
Marriage, Motherhood, and Adult Life
As an adult, Hellean married Gary Turner. The couple made their home in the Lawrence area and became parents of two sons, Adam Turner and Nathan Turner.⁶
Hellean continued her education as an adult. By 1998, she had recently graduated from the East Central Community College cosmetology program. At the time of her death, she was employed by Chata Enterprises in Conehatta.⁶
Her obituary therefore captures a woman who, at thirty-three, was still moving forward professionally—having recently completed additional education while also working and raising her two sons.
Jerusalem Baptist Church
Hellean was a member of Jerusalem Baptist Church of Lawrence, the same church with which her mother Daisy was associated.
Her participation was more extensive than membership alone. Hellean served as assistant Sunday School secretary and was a member of the church’s Usher Board.⁶
These positions provide direct evidence of her participation in the congregation rather than requiring us to make broader assumptions about the role religion played in her personal life.
Memorial Day 1998
On May 25, 1998, Hellean’s life ended suddenly at the age of thirty-three.
She was traveling with her mother, Daisy Evans, age sixty-two, and her sister Felsia Diane Evans, age twenty-four, when they were involved in a traffic accident at the intersection of Mississippi Highways 15 and 25 in Louisville.⁷
The Winston County Journal reported that their car was struck by a loaded log truck driven by Dickie Darnell Raines of Ackerman. All three women were pronounced dead at the scene. The truck driver was not injured. The newspaper attributed its information about the collision to the Mississippi Highway Patrol.⁷
A member of the Winston County Civil Defense rescue team told the newspaper that visibility at the intersection was difficult because a driver stopped on Highway 15 sat slightly above the other roadway. According to the rescue worker, the driver of the Evans vehicle apparently did not see the approaching log truck before pulling into the intersection.⁷
Thus, what had begun as an ordinary Memorial Day became a devastating event for the Evans family: Daisy and two of her daughters died together in the same collision.
Final Services
Hellean’s obituary reported that funeral services were held at 2:00 p.m. on May 30, 1998, at the Newton Municipal High School Auditorium, with Rev. Robert Denmark officiating. She was interred in Lawrence Cemetery in Lawrence, and W. F. Mapp Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements.⁶
Her obituary describes the service as occurring on “Sunday, May 30, 1998.” As with Daisy’s obituary, this presents a calendar discrepancy: May 30, 1998, was a Saturday. Because both records apparently give May 30 while calling it Sunday, the safest genealogical treatment is to preserve the recorded date while noting the discrepancy rather than silently changing it.
Hellean was survived by her husband, Gary Turner, and their sons, Adam and Nathan Turner of Lawrence. Her obituary also reported four surviving sisters and five surviving brothers, along with nieces, nephews, cousins, and other relatives.⁶
The numbers are particularly significant when Hellean’s obituary is compared with Daisy’s. Hellean had five sisters, but Felsia died with her, leaving four surviving sisters. She had six brothers, but Robert P. Henry had died earlier, leaving five surviving brothers. Once again, the survivor counts in the family’s 1998 obituaries fit the reconstructed family of Daisy Bell Thompson Evans.
A Life Preserved in the Local Record
Hellean Denise Evans Turner’s life lasted only thirty-three years, but the surviving newspaper record allows us to see considerably more than the circumstances of her death.
We can see her first as a fourth-grade student, standing with classmates and holding a certificate from a nutrition education program. A few years later, her name appears among Newton High School students participating in a Special Olympics competition. She was subsequently selected for the 1980 Homecoming Court, participated in the Lawrence Ever Ready 4-H Club, and graduated from Newton High School in 1983.
The records then carry her into adulthood. She became Hellean Evans Turner, wife of Gary and mother of Adam and Nathan. She worked at Chata Enterprises, returned to education and completed a cosmetology program at East Central Community College, and participated in Jerusalem Baptist Church as assistant Sunday School secretary and a member of the Usher Board.
Her death on Memorial Day 1998 is an unavoidable part of her history, particularly because the same collision took her mother and sister. But it should not overshadow everything that came before it.
The collection of school photographs, newspaper notices, church information, and her obituary allows Hellean’s story to be reconstructed across nearly three decades—from a little girl holding a school certificate to a thirty-three-year-old wife, mother, employee, recent cosmetology graduate, and active member of her Lawrence church.
Resting Place
Union Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery
Photos/Albums
Sources
- 1. “Newton Fourth Grade,” newspaper photograph and caption, photograph identifying Hellean Evans among Newton fourth-grade students receiving certificates after completing the six-week “Mulligan Stew” foods and nutrition ETV series sponsored by the Mississippi Cooperative Extension Service.
- 2. Susan Neral, “NHS Special Olympic Team In Tourney,” The Newton Record (Newton, Mississippi), February 7, 1979, p. 6; reporting Newton High School’s participation in the January 26 Area V Special Olympics Basketball Tournament and identifying Hellean Evans among students participating in the ball-handling competition.
- 3. “NHS Homecoming Court,” newspaper photograph and caption, 1980, identifying Hellean Evans among the maids of the 1980 Newton High School Homecoming Court.
- 4. “Lawrence 4-H Club Tours Washington,” The Newton Record (Newton, Mississippi), July 21, 1982, p. 5; announcing the Ever Ready 4-H Club of Lawrence’s planned July 26–31 Washington, D.C., tour and identifying Hellean Evans among club members not pictured.
- 5. “Newton High School Has 70 Graduates For 1983,” The Newton Record (Newton, Mississippi), May 18, 1983, p. 1; listing Hellean Evans among the seventy candidates for graduation and announcing commencement exercises for May 20, 1983.
- 6. “Mrs. Hellean Denise Evans Turner,” obituary, reporting Hellean’s death May 25, 1998, age thirty-three; membership in Jerusalem Baptist Church of Lawrence; graduation from Newton Municipal High School and recent graduation from East Central Community College of Cosmetology; service as assistant Sunday School secretary and member of the Usher Board; employment with Chata Enterprises in Conehatta; husband Gary Turner; sons Adam and Nathan Turner; funeral at Newton Municipal High School Auditorium; Rev. Robert Denmark officiating; interment Lawrence Cemetery; W. F. Mapp Funeral Home in charge. The obituary prints the funeral as “Sunday, May 30, 1998,” although May 30, 1998, was a Saturday.
- 7. Casey Sears, “Traffic Accident Results in Fatalities,” Winston County Journal (Louisville, Mississippi), June 3, 1998, reporting the May 25 collision at Highways 15 and 25 in Louisville that killed Felisia Diann Evans, 24; Hellean Turner, 33; and Daisy Evans, 62 after their vehicle was struck by a loaded log truck driven by Dickie Darnell Raines of Ackerman; all three women were pronounced dead at the scene. The article attributed information concerning the collision to the Mississippi Highway Patrol.
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