Evelyn Ellen Bowden

MISS EVELYN ELLEN BOWDEN, 88 of MT. GILEAD, NC passed away Thursday, June 25, 2020 at Sandy Ridge Memory Care in Candor, NC.

A  Graveside Service will be held 11:00 am Tuesday, July 7, 2020 at the Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery, Thickety Creek Rd., MT. Gilead, NC. (Due to the COVID 19 pandemic everyone attending the service are asked to wear a mask or facial covering for the safety of the family and public also when entering and exiting the Chapel. Please use the hand sanitizing station in the Chapel during Visitation.)

A Visitation will be held 10:00 am to 10:30 am Tuesday, July 7, 2020 prior to the service at Harris Funeral Home & Cremations of MT. Gilead, NC.

Evelyn Ellen Bowden, 88, was born on Tuesday, November 17, 1931, in Mt. Gilead, NC, to Anita Susa Mae Smitherman Bowden and Sumler Bowden, Sr.  Both parents preceded her in death.

Evelyn chose God as her Savior at age 12.  She joined Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church, in Mt. Gilead, NC, where she served as pianist for the Pleasant Grove Choir.  Evelyn attended the Mt. Gilead Colored School and Peabody High School, Troy, NC, where she was a member of the chorus.  Evelyn was named after her paternal grandmother, Ellen Powell Robinson Bowden, but she was lovingly known to her classmates and friends as "Red".

During the early 50's, Evelyn and her mother Anita Bowden, became guardians of two children, Lavis Cedric Bowden and Beverly Joyce Bowden.  They resided in the "Bowdenville" Community.  Evelyn loved all her nieces and nephews.  She encouraged them to strive for excellence and prayed nightly for their healing and protection.

Evelyn believed in equal justice for everyone.  Although she grew up during the Jim Crow era, she was highly opinionated about social equality.  Due to her beliefs, while shopping in various stores, Evelyn refused to give up her place in line to the opposite race.  She had a heart of gold and enjoyed babysitting for family members.  Evelyn spoiled all the children in the neighborhood with delicious treats.  She loved dancing, playing the piano and singing with the children.  Her favorite hymns were, " Everyday Brings About A Change", " We Are Soldiers', and " We Are Marching Up To Zion".

The siblings preceding Evelyn in death are; Jessie Lawrence Bowden (Lonnie Mae), Mary Agnes Bowden Patterson (William), Sumler Bowden, Jr.,(Barbara), Franklin Delano Bowden (Carrie Alma), Lenora Bowden Spencer (Lester Edward), Ruby Catherine Bowden Lewis (Billie Rae).  Evelyn was also preceded in death by her dear friends, Mary Virginia Bradley Stanback of Montgomery County, NC and James David Greene of the Pee Dee Community in North Carolina.

Evelyn's only surviving sibling is Myrtle Bowden Wright (George) of Morristown, NJ, and sister-in-law, Barbara "Bobbie" Bowden (Sumler Jr.) of Mt. Gilead, NC.  Evelyn leaves many other relatives and aquaintances, all of whom she loved and are left to cherish her memory.