Evelyn Rita (Russell) Draper

Evelyn Rita (Russell) Draper passed away on May 27, 2024, in Spokane, Wash., with her son by her side.

Evelyn was born November 29, 1929, in Froid, Mont., at her grandmother's house, as her parents were visiting there for the holidays.

Her father, Roy Russell, was a farmer. After five years of bad crops in Montana they moved to Spokane when Evelyn was three years old.

In Spokane, Roy eventually opened a shoe repair service. Evelyn's mother Agnes (Sorensen) Russell died of pneumonia when Evelyn was six years old and Evelyn then learned to take care of her two little sisters, Irene and Vera.

In January of 1949, Evelyn responded to a help wanted advertisement by Dale Draper. After a brief interview, he hired her to come to the Elberton area to help cook and keep house for him and his parents on their farm. Eventually, she told Dale that her pants would stay on until there was a ring on her finger. A few months later they married in Spokane on April 29, 1949. They had three sons while living and working on the farm. They stayed happily married until Dale passed on April 6, 2019, just three weeks shy of their 70th anniversary.

Evelyn was preceded in death by her mother and father; her sisters, Irene and Vera; and her son Carl Draper.

Evelyn is survived by her sons, Dave and Scott Draper. She is also survived by five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

A funeral service will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, May 31, at the Colfax Cemetery.