Obituary of Joan Evans

A celebration of the life of Betty Joan Evans, loving sister and aunt will be held at 10 a.m., Wednesday, January 14, 2009 at the First Baptist Church in Troup with Rev. Mike Jeter and Rev. Mike Cline officiating. Interment will follow at the Griffin Cemetery near Troup, under the direction of Cottle Funeral Home, Troup. Joan passed away on Monday, January 12, 2009. Joan was born to Philip and Jessie Searcy Evans in the Griffin community outside of Troup on October 14, 1933. After graduating from Troup High School in 1951, she traveled to Houston to attend nursing school. She graduated from the Jefferson Davis School of Nursing on May 28, 1954. Following her graduation from nursing school, she began a long career as a registered nurse. Her passion for caring for other people led her to several organizations in the Houston area. She began her career at Jefferson Davis Hospital (now Ben Taub Hospital) and then moved to the Harris County Public Health office. From there she moved on to work at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) where she cared for many of the astronauts and engineers involved in the missions to the moon. In the latter years of her career, Joan worked as a nurse at the Shell Oil Refinery in Deer Park, Texas before serving as a corporate nurse for fifteen years at Exxon Chemical in Houston until her retirement. Joan was a member of First Baptist Church in Troup. She enjoyed church activities, traveling, reading, and spending time with her brothers and sisters and their families. She is preceded in death by her parents, her brother Glen Evans, her sister Jean Evans and her brother-in-law, Gene Gillis. She is survived by her sisters, June Gillis and Linda Kay Evans both of Troup; her brothers and sisters-in-law Dean and Jane Evans of Deer Park and Robert and Margie Evans of Tyler; her sister-in-law, Mary Kay Evans of Troup as well as numerous nieces and nephews. Pallbearers will be Greg Evans, Mark Evans, Matt Evans, Steve Evans, Drew Evans and Clint Covington. A visitation will be held at the funeral home from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, January 13. The family would like to request that memorials, if desired, be sent to First Baptist Church (P.O. Box 516, Troup, TX 75789) or the Troup Education Foundation (Attn: Troup H.S. Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 125, Troup, TX 75789).