Evelyn Jean Small

Evelyn “Ev” Small (March 17th, 1948-October 26th, 2025) loved books and the words that filled them. She loved learning anything and everything she could, earning a BA in Political Science and English from Miami University, an MA and a PhD in Political Science from Ohio State University, and an MS in Library Sciences from Catholic University. She loved the color green, donning herself in green clothes and opting for green ink in the many pens she wrote with. She loved pancakes and pie, often saying that “there could be no stress in the presence of pie”. She loved sheep and decorated her spaces with sheep figurines and pictures because “when you waved at sheep, they brought good luck.” She loved Paris. She loved Joni Mitchell and Carol King and the many other voices of the 1970s. She loved her work in the Jimmy Carter White House, The Library of Congress’ Kluge Center, and the publishing of her literary journal, Bearing Books. She cherished her decades-long career at The Washington Post, including her close and fruitful partnership with Katharine Graham, and believed that a good newspaper could do great things. She loved knitting and poetry and taking pictures. She loved corresponding through letters with her dear friends. She loved her childhood in Greenville, Ohio. She loved her parents, Bob and Betty Small. And she deeply loved those she left behind–her friends, her husband Eric Goldman, children Will and Anna Goldman, brothers David and Dan Small and their wives, Pam and Teri.

Ev was an extraordinary person made up of stories, people, places, and joy, and fueled by unending curiosity and the ability to lead with love at every turn. She is now at peace after a life fully and intentionally lived.

Celebrations in honor of Ev's life will be held in the places she called home, Greenville, Ohio and Washington, DC. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Ev’s name to Friends of the Arlington Public Library or Friends of the Greenville Public Library.