Janella Magee Evers

Jan Magee Evers, a nursing educator, administrator, and practitioner, whose long history with the University of Mississippi Medical Center was marked by service and devotion, died on May 5, 2025, in Jackson.
A native of Tylertown, MS, she came to Jackson in 1957, soon after the Medical Center opened, after completing pre-nursing courses at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. Upon graduation from nursing school, she spent 15 years as a nursing supervisor at University Hospital. During her student days she met "a handsome resident," - her husband of 32 years, Dr. Carl G. Evers. They married and had three children.
She completed her master's degree in 1975 and joined the School of Nursing faculty. Evers established the school's first continuing education program. The faculty and students at the Medical Center recognized and acknowledged her competence and leadership in all nursing activities. She was a brilliant teacher and an example to her students and fellow faculty.
In alumni activities, she served twice as president of the nursing alumni chapter of the Ole Miss Alumni Association and as a member of its board. In 2011, she was named Nursing Alumni of the Year. She was chair of the University of Mississippi Guardian Society and was active in the Mississippi Nursing Association Foundation.
After Carl Evers died in 1992, she established the Carl G. Evers Award, a scholarship given yearly to outstanding medical students who demonstrate interest in organized medicine and activities of the Mississippi State Medical Association and the American Medical Association. She has lent her support to the Carl G. Evers, MD, Society, an honorary service organization that seeks to improve medical education at UMMC primarily through the evaluation of coursework required in the preclinical and clinical years of medical school. Additionally, she established the Jan M. Evers Faculty Fellowship Research Award in the School of Nursing.
"I had the pleasure and honor of knowing Jan and Carl while in medical school in the 60s. Jan was a nurse so I knew and saw her when I was on the clinical floors, and Carl was my teacher in pathology. The two of them made a real difference in healthcare in Mississippi, and especially at the University Medical Center. The world is a better place because they both decided to devote their lives to health care. I am honored to have known both of them for over 50 years," said Dr. James E. Keeton who holds emeritus status as UMMC's Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and Dean of the School of Medicine, and as Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics.
Jan presented many workshops around the country offering continuing education for nurses and health-related professionals in the nursing care of AIDS patients.
A talented musician, she served as dean of the Jackson Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and sang with the Jackson Choral Society and the parish choir of St. Philip's Episcopal Church.
She is predeceased by her parents Lena Mae and Wade Lampton Magee; her husband Carl G. Evers, MD; her son Carl Gustav Evers; and her first grandson, Charles Nelson Crump. She is survived by two daughters, Karen Alicia Evers (Bryan Robertson), and Julie Evers Crump; and grandson Charles Jackson Crump as well as her sister Kate Magee Johnson (William); nieces Tiffany Moreira (Rick) and Summerlyn Nation; three great nephews; three great nieces; and a newborn great-great-niece.
The family expresses gratitude for her constant caring companions: Bonita McGee, Kim Bennett, Breanna Walker, Carolyn Williams, and Caroline Allison.
A Celebration of Life service will be held on Tuesday, July 29, at St. Philip's Episcopal Church, at noon with visitation preceding at 11 a.m.
Instead of flowers, memorials may be sent to the UMMC Office of Development- Carl G. Evers, MD, Society, 2500 North State St., Jackson, MS 39216 or St. Philip's Episcopal Church, 5400 Old Canton Rd., Jackson, MS 39211.