Viola May (Holaday) Evans, 92, Quinter, formerly of the Missouri Flats community southeast of Gove died Friday, December 10, 2010 at the Gove County Medical Center. She was born at Grinnell, KS on January 29, 1918 to Roy and Viana (Eastlack) Holaday, the oldest girl in a family of eight children. She attended the Grinnell schools.


She married Wilbur Otis Evans on November 21, 1937. He preceded her in death December 1, 2002.


Viola was a member of the Quinter United Methodist Church and actively involved in the United Methodist Women. In her younger years Viola served as a 4-H leader in the Hackberry 4-H Club and was a past member of the Rebekah Lodge. Viola enjoyed cooking, gardening, canning, entertaining, embroidering, quilting, Tri Chem painting and keeping scrapbooks of her family and genealogy. Her loving hands made lots of quilts-solid embroidered, appliquéd and pieced. Her solid stitched state birds and flowers quilt was done so beautifully that the judges at the state fair thought it was done with machine embroidery!


Viola was a good cook! You could usually count on her making her sour cream banana cake with the peanut butter icing for fellowship dinners at church or family get-togethers. She also made cream pies from scratch.


Viola made countless sets of tea towels-first embroidered and later painted. Many people in the community had them as she gave them for showers, weddings and many other types of gifts. After she moved to the LTCF she continued to paint towels, much to the delight of the staff and residents who purchased them from her.


Survivors include three sons, Eugene Evans and wife Marjorie of Gove; Carl Evans and wife Cheryl of Columbia, South Carolina; and Darrel Evans and wife Kathy of Quinter; granddaughters, Gina Price and husband John Bushton, KS, April Evans, Karissa Evans and fiancé Brian Swenson of Salina, KS, Bethany Evans of Quinter; grandsons, Matthew Evans and partner Carroll Jenkins of Savannah, GA, David Evans and wife Lauren of Chapin, SC, and Braden Evans of Quinter; three great-grandchildren, Riley Evans, Weston and Cody Price.


Viola was preceded in death by her parents, five brothers, two sisters, her husband, daughter-in-law, Sally Evans, and a son, Gary Lee Evans.


Services are planned for Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. at the United Methodist Church in Quinter with the Rev. Kennedy Mukwindidza officiating. Visitation will be Monday from 6:00 p.m. through 8:00 p.m. at Schmitt Funeral Home, Quinter.


Memorials are suggested to the United Methodist Church or Gove County Medical Center Long Term Care and may be sent in care of Schmitt Funeral Home, 901 S. Main, Quinter, KS 67752