Evelyn Green White

With gratitude for a life of faith, service, and love, the family of Evelyn Elizabeth Green White celebrates her enduring legacy as a devoted daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, great‑grandmother, educator, and community servant.

EARLY YEARS
Evelyn Elizabeth Green was born on October 11, 1921, in Baltimore, Maryland, one of four children of John Edward Green and Virginia Flanagan Green. The family later moved to Glen Burnie, Maryland, in Anne Arundel County, where Evelyn spent her formative years and much of her married life.

EDUCATION
Evelyn began her education in 1927 at the local segregated one-room school in Glen Burnie, Maryland, that later became a two-room school. After completing elementary school, she attended a Baltimore City junior high school. Evelyn was slated to attend Bates High School, the only high school available to Negro students in Anne Arundel County at the time, that served an area 40-50 miles long and 10-20 miles wide. Those distances encouraged most of the potential students to leave school due to miles-long walks to bus stops, and rides of 20 miles or more to Bates, with numerous bus stops along the route.

Instead of attending Bates under those conditions, Evelyn enrolled at the famous and highly selective Frederick Douglass High School in Baltimore. After graduating from Douglass, she attended Coppin State University). Forced to leave college due to World War II, and US economic woes. Evelyn later got married and began a family, Determined to return to Coppin, she completed her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education in the mid-1950’s. Evelyn later attended graduate school at the University of Maryland, College Park becoming a Baltimore City Master Teacher.

MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
On January 10, 1943, Evelyn married Leon Harvingthau White of Elizabeth City, North Carolina. To this union were born three children: Leon, Jr., Barbara, and Maurice. In 1950, after Leon’s return from Army service, the couple built a home in Glen Burnie.

Leon retired as a Federal Government Executive and Chief of the Procurement Division of the Commissary at Fort Meade before he answered a call to the ministry in the United Methodist Church. Together, Leon and Evelyn served at numerous Methodist churches in the Baltimore Washington United Methodist Conference. In addition, they traveled extensively, in Egypt with their son, Maurice, across Europe, including England, France, Holland, and Italy, and in Asia to include India, Japan, and Thailand. They also travelled widely throughout the United States and Canada.

They also did missionary work for the Methodist Church in South Korea, in Russia, and Liberia/Sierra Leone, where they spent a summer in each country. Their extensive travel provided countless memorable experiences and fostered international friendships that truly enriched their lives.
Evelyn loved entertaining with her husband, preparing favorite recipes for dinner parties for family and friends and social club members. After dinner she relished jokes and word and board games to close out a fun evening with guests over dessert. In later years she learned to play the piano, joined both a book club and a pinochle club, and regularly entertained members and guests from both groups.

TEACHING CAREER
Evelyn devoted her professional life to the Baltimore City Public Schools for over 28 years, first as an elementary classroom teacher, her true calling, later as a high‑intensity reading teacher and tutor. After teaching at Morgan State University, she returned to teaching elementary school, her real passion.

Her longest tenure was with Carter G. Woodson Elementary School, No. 160 in Baltimore (Cherry Hill). Evelyn did not just teach her students at Carter G. Woodson, she loved them, individually and collectively. She invested in their education both inside and outside of the classroom to broaden their exposure to the wider culture and society, and would go to their homes to meet with parents if she thought that would be of help to a student.

Evelyn’s bond with her students was so strong that many maintained contact with her throughout their lives. Three in particular made substantial efforts year after year, Rhonda Bell, Iris Bacoate, and Dean Scott, each of whom was with their beloved teacher within the last 24 hours of her life. The three coordinated social occasions honoring “Ms. White” on her birthday for many, many years, including on her last birthday in 2025. With some former students as grandparents now themselves, they have honored Evelyn at birthday events both in Baltimore and in Washington, including beautiful brunches, luncheons, dinners, and very recently, a large outdoor barbecue.

One of her birthday gatherings was the basics of a feature story on a Baltimore local news station. This special bond was quite remarkable, and the unwavering love from her students over several decades was a significant contribution to Evelyn’s longevity.

BUSINESS ENDEAVORS
Renowned as an excellent and devoted teacher, Evelyn was also quite accomplished as a business woman, but was so modest that she rarely spoke of her success in this arena. She owned business investment properties in Maryland and Washington, DC for over 60 years, and worked hard to maintain the investments. When she was in her eighties, the local Anne Arundel County Maryland newspaper featured Evelyn as an accomplished senior citizen who served as general contractor on the renovation a house from a one to two-story residence.

SERVICE AND AFFILIATIONS
Evelyn was committed to civic engagement and faith-based service. She was a member of and/or affiliated with numerous organizations, including the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority (lifetime member); the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections; the Advisory Board of the Anne Arundel County Department of Aging; Anne Arundel Bicentennial Commission; Business and Professional Women’s Club, Incorporated; Interdenominational Ministers’ Wives; Asbury United Methodist Home Guild; the Bishop’s Retreat Committee of the United Methodist Church; and the Douglass High School Reunion Committee.

LATER YEARS
Evelyn was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Leon, with whom she shared 54 years of marriage until his passing in 1997. After his passing she began to travel again exploring countries she had not previously visited, including Côte d’Ivoire. Her final overseas travel was a European river cruise with her best friend Louise Smith (another pastor’s wife) with a New Years Eve celebration in Paris.
In 2001, Evelyn relocated, her first significant move in life, to live with her son and daughter‑in‑law in Washington, DC, embracing a new chapter of her life surrounded by family. Knowing that she would be living near her grandson, Frank, III, was a special draw as she needed to be convinced to move from her extensive network of friends and connections in the Baltimore/Glen Burnie area for nearly 80 years.

PRECEDED IN DEATH
Evelyn was preceded in death by her parents; her siblings Thomas, James, and Eloise; her half-brother Charles Camper; her husband, Leon H. White; and her children, Leon, Jr. and Barbara (W. Frank Williams, Jr.).
Not only did Evelyn mourn the loss of her siblings and husband, she endured the loss of her first born son, Leon, Jr. at the age of 18 months, her daughter, Barbara, in her 60’s, and Sandra and Hudson Mayberry, a niece and nephew, who Evelyn and Leon raised as their own. Living to the age of 104, Evelyn grieved the loss of countless friends over the past 25 years. Her spiritual and emotional resilience was truly an inspiration.

CHERISHED FAMILY
She leaves to cherish her memory: her son, Maurice; daughter‑in‑law, Renee DeVigne; grandson, W. Frank Williams, III; and great‑grandson, Connor. She is also remembered with love by a host of other relatives and friends whose lives were brightened by her effervescent joy and unceasing kindness.

LEGACY
Evelyn’s legacy endures in the family she nurtured, the students she taught, the communities she strengthened, and her laudable longevity. She would tell you that living to age 104 was a result of doing her best to eat a healthy diet, exercise daily, maintain a spiritual grounding, keep an open mind, foster a good sense of humor, be kind and forgiving, never give up, and most importantly, to wholeheartedly love others. Her strong faith enabled her to live through challenging times with a positive attitude. May her gentle spirit, wisdom, and grace continue to inspire all who were blessed to know her.

FAMILY HOUR AND MEMORIAL SERVICE
The family hour will be at 11am and memorial service will be held at Asbury UMC in Washington, DC at 12pm.