Evelyn Marie Small

Evelyn was born in Oneida, NY and attended Sherill Elementary, then Vernon-Verona-Sherill High school. During her high school years, she started her love for music and joined the high school band and marching band. She played her trumpet throughout her life. She was married for 61 years and traveled the world as a navy wife for 26 years.

She had many occupations, candle factory worker, custodian, and navy exchange employee, but her most important occupation was raising her family, often while her husband was out to sea for extended periods.
She raised her family in many locations over the 26 years that she was a Navy wife. Locations included Adak, Alaska (1200 miles out on the Aleutian chain), Guam, California, Massachusetts, Maine, Florida and finally Washington. In raising the family in some exotic locations mother nature had put some excitement into her life in the form of a super typhoon (Guam) and many large earthquakes (Alaska and California).
Throughout the 26 years of traveling her family was always her focus. She would join in activities and organizations with her sons. Most prominent was little league baseball. She often served as team mother and was always the boys’ biggest fan. When moving to Adak and no baseball was available the family turned to bowling. Again, she enjoyed bowling throughout the rest of her life. She often bowled with her husband and later with her sons and husband. She also played CO-ED softball with her sons. She had a competitive spirit that she passed on to her sons. In the later years in Washington, she enjoyed sailing with her son, Jeff in Puget Sound. She would go up to the bow and just watch the beautiful scenery and wildlife.
As the grandkids and great grandkids started to arrive, she loved coming over for family barbeques, playing some bocce ball, but most of all playing with the kids. She would just light up around them.

Her hobbies were also very family oriented. She knitted, crocheted and sewed many, many articles for all her grandchildren and great grandchildren. When she was not busy crafting, she enjoyed playing bingo with her girlfriends.

She is preceded in death by her mother Jane, and father Ed. She is survived by husband Michael and sons, Jeff and David. Her grandchildren are Jessica, Kelsey, Brittany, Adam and Colby. Her great grandchildren are Cora Mae, Mercy, Gauge and Solaire. Her grandchildren and great grandchildren were her great love later in life.

Memorial service for Evelyn will be held at Colby United Methodist Church at 7pm on Tuesday, May 30th