Evelyn "Inez" Hensley

Evelyn "Inez" Hensley, 98, a devoted daughter, sister, aunt, wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and friend went to meet her Savior on November 28, 2025. Her passing left a hole in many hearts that are hurting right now. She was a hard worker and a kind and loving soul who will be greatly missed and not forgotten.

She was born in Dillon County, South Carolina and was the 2 nd of 10 children (Hazel, Inez, Jake, Marvin Jr., Doris, Geneva, Donnie, Carolyn Faye, Kathryn and Brenda) born to Marvin and Thelma Edge. After the birth of Marvin Jr., the family moved to North Carolina where the other 6 children were born. Carolyn Faye lived only 6 months and died from black pneumonia. Of all the children, Inez is the only one who graduated from high school (11 grades back then).

Her father was a manual laborer and worked in the cotton mills when he wasn't working as a sharecropper and her mother worked in the cotton mills when she wasn't having babies. Money was very tight at home and, if that wasn't bad enough, she was born between World War I and World War II and right before the Great Depression so everything was scarce and times were hard for everyone. Regardless, the family would entertain themselves on Saturday nights by making music and singing on their back porch. They may not have had much but they did have joy in their lives.

Inez worked with her father and siblings in the cotton and tobacco fields in North Carolina until, after graduation, she was able to get her first real job with Ma Bell as a switchboard operator. That didn't last long because it turned out she was allergic to electricity. She went back home and started working in the twister room at a cotton mill in Hope Mills. During World War II, she helped made thread for tires.

In 1949, she met Harold Hensley, a 20 year old red-headed soldier stationed at Fort Bragg, when one of her cousins talked her into going to a dance in a tobacco warehouse in Fayetteville. Harold asked her to dance and they danced the rest of the night. He got her address but no good-night kiss. After that, she went to the dances every week and met him there. He would come to her home and got to know and be accepted by her entire family. It didn't take long for love to grow and they were married within a couple of months of meeting.

Harold and Inez had 3 daughters (Linda, Donna and Rhonda) and then the heartbreak of losing stillborn twins (Joyce and Janice). The life of a military wife was not easy but when he was transferred to a new post, she would pack up the house and the girls, and follow him and when he was stationed overseas, she would be both father and mother to the girls in his absence.

When the girls were older, Inez went to cosmetology school to become a licensed beautician and, although she only worked in this profession for a short time before another transfer came in, she became the go-to for family and friends for haircuts, coloring and perms. When Harold retired and moved the family to San Antonio and later to Texas City, she worked beside him in their car washes. After they sold both car washes, she started babysitting local children and, as one mother relayed, she was a beautiful lady who helped her when she was a young and struggling single mom.

After that, she went to work for Kroger and worked the night/early morning shift in the bakery long enough to earn a pension. She retired to take care of Harold full-time until he passed in 2009 after 59 years of marriage.

Inez was preceded in death by her parents Marvin and Thelma Edge, stillborn daughters Joyce and Janice Hensley, her husband Harold Hensley, 8 of her 9 siblings and her son-in-law Larry Hacker.

Inez is survived by her children Linda Erdman and her husband Robert "Bob", Donna Hacker and Rhonda Hensley; her sister Geneva Ross; her brothers-in-law Archie Gautier and Joseph Edwards; her sister-in-law Margaret Hensley; her grandchildren Christopher "Brian" Hensley and his wife Heather Barkley, Melissa Hacker and her life partner Joey Gallagher, Robert Hacker and his wife Zarah Socco and Thomas Hacker; her great-grandchildren Blue Hacker and Aleister Hensley and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

In her honor, there will be a visitation on Tuesday, December 2 nd at Crowder Funeral Home at 851 FM 517 West, Dickinson, TX 77539 (the corner of FM 646 and FM 517) from 5 PM to 7 PM. Her funeral service will be on Wednesday, December 3 rd, also at Crowder Funeral Home, at 10 AM. Burial will follow at Forest Park East Cemetery at 21620 Gulf Freeway, Webster, TX 77598.

The family would like to give special thanks to the caregivers who helped their mother/grandmother stay in her home in her final years and to son-in-law Bob's caregivers and Unity Hospice for their help tending to her needs and keeping her comfortable for the last 3 months of her life. Also, thank you to hospice volunteer Pastor Ronald Evans (The Rock Church in Clute) for tending to her spiritual needs in her final days.

In lieu of flowers, Inez requested that donations be made in honor of her son-in-law Bob, to the Gathering Place Interfaith Ministries, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which serves Brazoria County families affected by dementia, at Gathering Place, P.O. Box 2050, Angleton, TX 77516.