Evelyn C. Franklin

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." II Timothy 4:7. A retired educator who was active in professional, civic and social organizations, Mrs. Evelyn Coleman Franklin died Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2008, at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center after a brief illness. She was 84, a native and resident of Baton Rouge, born July 10, 1924, to the union of Joe Coleman and Ida Oby Coleman. She was educated at Perkins Road Elementary School and graduated from McKinley High School in 1942. Mrs. Franklin received bachelor's degrees in elementary education from Leland College (1947) and Southern University (1959). In 1962, she was awarded a master's degree in counseling from the University of Northern Colorado (later Colorado State University at Greeley). She subsequently acquired more than 30 hours of advanced graduate study in the area of counseling at the University of Northern Colorado and LSU. For 35 years, she worked in the East Baton Rouge Parish school system as a teacher and later, a guidance counselor. She also served as interim principal at Greenville Elementary School and was widely respected among her peers for her competence and dedication. Upon her retirement in 1980, Mrs. Franklin's professional affiliations included membership in the Louisiana Education Association and the Louisiana Retired Teachers Association (Educators of Yesteryear). Mrs. Franklin was a committed woman of faith, having been baptized by the late Rev. W.M. Pitcher at the Sixty Aid Baptist Church. In 1949, she joined Mount Zion First Baptist Church under the leadership of the Rev. T.J. Jemison and served faithfully as a member of the senior usher board. Her civic affiliations included the South Hill Neighborhood Club and Ladies Organized to Serve, which she founded. Evelyn was a Golden Life member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., and a member of the Baton Rouge Delta Alumnae Chapter for 46 years. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Clarence Franklin Sr.; parents, Joe and Ida Oby Coleman; five brothers, Felton Coleman Sr., Joseph Coleman Sr., Edward Coleman, James Coleman and Thomas Coleman Sr.; sister, Julia Coleman Pierce; and two stepchildren, Clarence Franklin Jr. and Carolyn Franklin. She leaves to celebrate the legacy of her life her devoted daughter, Velma H. Jackson, D.D.S.; stepson, Clyde Franklin; two grandchildren, Donald C. Jackson III and Brian Keith Jackson; two sisters, Dorothy C. Gant and Mabel C. Emery; and numerous nieces, nephews, extended family and friends, and all whose lives she touched so indelibly. Visiting at Mount Zion First Baptist Church on Friday, Aug. 8, from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. A Delta Sigma Theta Omega Omega ceremony will be conducted on Friday at 10 a.m., followed by a religious service at 11 a.m., with the Rev. René F. Brown presiding. Arrangements entrusted to Rabenhorst Funeral Home. Interment in Southern Memorial Gardens.