Emma Ruth Evan

EVAN, Emma Ruth (Alper) Died December 2 of natural causes at her home in Chestnut Hill. She was 94. Born November 26, 1914 in Galveston, Texas, she was raised in Brookline and graduated from Brookline High School and the University of Michigan. In 1937, she accompanied her father, Morris Alper, on a trip to Palestine where within the space of 30 days, she met and married Leon Evan. After a honeymoon in the States, they returned to Palestine where they lived until the threat of World War II brought them back to Boston. Emma was one of very few women drivers on the streets of Tel Aviv in those days. In 1969, after a 25-year career as a stay-at-home mother, active Hadassah member and poll-watching Democrat, Emma joined the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Department of Public Welfare where she spent the next 26 years as a caseworker at the Roxbury Crossing and Brookline Village offices. In 1996, at the age of 82, Emma retired from the Welfare Department and began to work twice a week in the G.I. unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center until a fall in 2006 forced her to stop. During that time, she was awarded Volunteer of the Year and actively participated in the Literacy Volunteers program. Surviving her are her son Charles Evan and his wife, Melissa of Newton Centre; her daughter Frederica Sigel and her husband Efrem of New York City; four grandsons; and one great-grandson. Following a private service, shiva will be held on Wednesday and Thursday from 4 to 7 and Friday from 12 to 4 at her home at 280 Boylston Street, Chestnut Hill. Donations in Emma's memory may be made to the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, c/o Mark Josephson, MD, 330 Brookline Ave., Boston, MA 02215 Levine Chapels, Brookline 617-277-8300