Remembering Evelyn H. Church
A consummate educator inside and outside of the classroom, Evelyn H. Church left a legacy of learning in the lives of her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and students.
After her marriage to fellow educator Ralph Church, the couple traveled to the United Kingdom and throughout the United States. Evelyn’s long career in teaching included high schools in North Carolina, Alabama, Maryland, and Ohio. She continued her teaching career by joining her husband as a professor at Juniata College.
Throughout her years of teaching, Evelyn managed the family’s household, cooked the meals, lovingly reared six children, and completed her master’s degree in Spanish from Middlebury College in 1970.
When asked how she did all that, she said quite simply, “You do what you have to do.” Given the era and the demands and expectations that came with it, her accomplishments were truly remarkable.
Evelyn and Ralph both retired from Juniata in 1991 and continued to enjoy traveling together. Evelyn spent time cooking, enjoying music, reading, and spending time with her family’s pets.
The Churches relocated to North Carolina in the years following their retirement, making their home first in New Bern and later in Bermuda Village.
Evelyn H. Church, aged 95, died on Sunday, May 15, 2022, in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Born on October 20, 1926, in Birmingham, Ala., she was the only child of George and Bessie Lee (Underwood) Hester. She was united in marriage to Ralph Bruce Church on August 23, 1945. Her husband of almost 65 years and their son, Ralph Bruce Church Jr., preceded her in death.
Evelyn is survived by five children, Emily Wenger and spouse, Lowell; Rebecca Benson; Lynn Church Rathgeber ’77 and spouse, John; Katrina Church Pope and spouse, Darius; and Melissa Church; 13 grandchildren, Heather Broderick; Neal Mortimer; Karena West; Marjorie, William, Gwendolyn, and Natalie Rathgeber; Tanner and Klara Bost; and Nicholas, Kyle, Ryan, and Kelsey Williams; and a number of great-grandchildren.
Evelyn was a 1949 graduate of Wake Forest College with a bachelor of arts degree cum laude in English, and earned her master of arts degree in Spanish from Middlebury College in 1970.
She had a long career in teaching, first at the high school level (in N.C., Alabama, Maryland, and Ohio) and later at Juniata College.
Evelyn retired from teaching in 1991. Her interests included travel, cooking, music, and reading. Her face lit up whenever she held a baby and she also enjoyed her family’s pets, especially cats.
After retirement, she and Ralph moved first to New Bern, N.C., and then to Bermuda Village in Advance, N.C. She spent her last years at Salemtowne Retirement Community in Winston-Salem where she received care during her progressing dementia.