Our beloved mother and grandmother, Eunice Evelyn Wilson, 100, passed away on November 2nd 2023 at her home of over 50 years in Platte City, Missouri. Evelyn’s great joy was family and friends, followed by gardening, canning, and cooking Sunday meals to share with others. She was generous with her spirit, her food, her money, and sometimes too generous with her opinions. She met each day with enthusiasm, staying engaged with current events, reading the newspaper daily. She was a lifelong Democrat, never missed the Platte County Fair, and was an avid sports fan, rooting for the Mizzou Tigers and the Chiefs, even in the lean years.
Throughout her life, Evelyn maintained a strong work ethic, a value instilled in her from a young age. Her grandmother, Lucie, would tell her “long fingernails are a sign of laziness.” She lived by such traditional values and passed them down to her children. After her death, a list of chores for her children was unsurprisingly found on the kitchen table where the family gathered every Sunday for meals such as pot roast, chicken and sweet potatoes, fried okra, gumbo, along with homemade pies and cakes.
Evelyn was born on June 24th, 1923, in Liberty, Missouri, where she lived through her high school years. Her father was a postman, a federal job which she credited with carrying the family through the Great Depression. At 16, she met her first husband, Mack Dillingham Myers, when he was attending William Jewell College. One of their early dates was to the first-run showing of Gone with the Wind at the Midland Theatre. Just before the outbreak of the Second World War, Mack joined the Marine Corps and was sent to San Diego, California. Upon finishing high school, Evelyn followed him to boot camp by hitching a ride with other westbound teens. She later wondered how her parents had ever allowed her to leave. She and Mack married there in 1942.
During the war, she worked as a diner carhop, finishing her shift at 2 A.M. and then often heading to wide-open Tijuana, Mexico with friends. Once Mack was deployed, she returned to Platte City and joined the war effort, carpooling to work at the Lake City Ammunition Plant. After the war, Mack remained stationed overseas and she lived with her in-laws, Sheriff Don Myers and his wife Thelma, in the residence above the jail in Platte City where she cooked meals for inmates.
Evelyn and Mack had three children but their marriage ended in 1962. As a newly single mother at age 39, she was and remained grateful to Dwight McDonnell for giving her a job at his hardware store for $1 an hour. With that and $25 in alimony, the family had next to nothing, but in other ways they had a whole lot of something in Evelyn who fed, clothed, and nurtured them into responsible adults. Her work at the hardware store led to a position at the Circuit Clerk’s office, where she worked for 30 years until her retirement in 1993.
She married Robert “Boney” Wilson in 1968, also a veteran of World War II and recipient of the Purple Heart for his service in the South Pacific. Together in 1969, they bought the home in Platte City from which they never moved. Evelyn and Robert enjoyed many weekends at Bean Lake and hosted frequent carp and catfish fries at their home for many friends and family.
Evelyn was preceded in death by her parents Elsie Moppin and Pryor Carpenter, of Liberty, Missouri and by her husbands Mack Dillingham Myers and Robert Wilson.
She is survived by her daughter Luann E. Myers, sons Carl Mack Myers M.D. (Jan Myers PH.D.), Keith Alan Myers (Kathy Myers), grandchildren, Katie Marie Sanghvi M.D., Brian Carl Myers, Cole Campbell Myers, and great-grandson, Mathis Olivier Myers-Souëf. Survivors also include nieces, Lonetta Schmollinger, Denise Wilson, Jessica Fisher and Leslie Williams.
When her children were young, Evelyn attended the Baptist Church and in later years the Platte City United Methodist Church. She donated to the City Union Mission, Harvesters, and various animal shelters.
Evelyn quietly gave up driving at 99, with her last year behind the wheel limited to short trips to have a beer with her dear friend Mary Calvert. She credited her ability to remain living at home to her daughter Luann’s daily care, and to frequent visits from her sons Carl and Keith. Upon her 100th birthday, when questioned if she was officially old, she chuckled and replied, “oh dear, I’m not old… I’m ancient!” Nevertheless, she still climbed the staircase at home, as usual, on her final night. Evelyn was truly an inspiration to us all. She will be dearly missed and forever remembered. Among her last words were a comment to Carl that she felt ready to go.
There will be a graveside service for family and close friends at 11 a.m. on November 18th 2023, at the Platte City Cemetery. All are welcome to attend the Celebration of Life reception from 1-3 p.m. at Barley & Vine, 246 Main Street, Platte City, Missouri.
