ROSE EVANOFF

EVANOFF Rose Evanoff, 76, of College Station, Texas, passed away on May 4, 2012 following a courageous ten-year battle with scleroderma. She was born August 6, 1935 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to Bulgarian immigrants Rosa and Asen Ivanoff, and was baptized in the Eastern Orthodox tradition. Rose attended John Harris High School, where she played softball and was a flag twirler in the band. During that time, she also won several beauty contests. After graduating from high school, she moved to New York City and worked for CBS as an executive secretary until 1959. After that, she traveled to Europe on the ocean liner SS Liberté, and spent several weeks touring Italy, France and Switzerland. Because of the Cold War, she was unable to visit Bulgaria, but was able to see relatives who lived in former Bulgarian territory lost to Serbia following World War I. In August 1960, she met her future husband, Jim Evanoff, of Shreveport, Louisiana, in Harrisburg. They were inseparable from their first date, and were married in Shreveport in November 1961. The family followed Jim's career in the natural gas business, and moved to El Paso, Texas in 1966, where her sons Nicolas and Christopher graduated from Coronado High School, then to Midland, Texas in 1983, where her son Stefan graduated from Midland Lee High School. In 1987, they moved to Farmington, New Mexico where they remained until Jim retired from El Paso Corporation in 2001. Rose was a devoted wife and mother, raising her three sons and supporting her husband throughout his career. She was a vibrant and energetic personality, full of life and youthfulness, able to make friends easily wherever she went. Rose was a great believer in the value of education, extraordinarily well read, and very proud of the associate degree she obtained through her studies at UT El Paso and Ft. Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. She instilled this love of learning in her three sons, two of whom graduated from Texas A&M University, and one of whom graduated from UT El Paso. During their sons' time at Texas A&M in the 1980s, Rose and Jim fell in love with the university and its traditions, as both Nick and Stefan were members of the Corps of Cadets and the Aggie Band. They decided to retire to College Station in 2001, where they hoped to spend their retirement years enjoying the many activities and events offered by the Texas A&M community. Shortly after their move to College Station in 2001, Rose became ill and was eventually diagnosed with scleroderma, a debilitating auto-immune disorder, in 2002. She fought the disease with all her strength and will for 10 years, with her beloved husband Jim devoted to her care as she became progressively more ill. She finally succumbed on May 4, with her husband and sons, who she loved above all else, at her side. Rose was laid to rest at the Aggie Field of Honor in College Station, Texas, at a site overlooking the Texas A&M campus, on May 5 at 3:00 p.m. The graveside service was officiated by the Rev. Sean Cox of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church of Bryan, Texas. Rose will be dearly missed by family members who survive her, including: husband Jim; son Nick, daughter-in-law Joyce and granddaughter Erika of Houston, Texas; son Chris of Plano, Texas; son Stefan and daughter- in-law Sue of Lakewood, Colorado; twin sister Florence Ivanoff of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and brother Mike Ivanoff of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania; and many other relatives and friends. In lieu of flowers, please send contributions in memory of Rose to the Scleroderma Foundation, 300 Rosewood Drive, Suite 105, Danvers, MA 01923, website: www.scleroderma.org.