Evelynn Tucker Vanderford

Evelynn Tucker Vanderford, 94, died on June 16 at her home at Alexian Village on Signal Mountain. She was born at home on December 6, 1930, in Monroe County eastern Arkansas to the late Charles Franklin Tucker and Grace Collins Tucker. After a lifetime in Arkansas, she moved to Alexian to be near family in 2017.

Evelynn was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She was a loyal, compassionate and caring friend, and a kind and generous neighbor. She distinguished herself as an empathetic caregiver everywhere she went and with anyone she encountered.

Evelynn graduated from Baptist Nursing School in Memphis in 1952 and began a long career as a registered nurse. She was married for 58 years to her high school sweetheart, L.E. Vanderford. In her nursing career, she served as school nurse and county health provider. She fought for equal rights for Black students who were underserved in a segregated school system and lost her job when she demanded that all students receive the same services regardless of their race. Evelynn was called into the field of public health and served in several counties in eastern Arkansas before advancing to the position of nurse administrator at the Lee County Health Department in Marianna, Arkansas where she served until her retirement in 1996. She is renowned for making difficult rural home visits in poor weather conditions, graciously serving patients with tuberculosis, AIDS and other communicable diseases, meeting patients for immunizations in the farm fields, training midwives, procuring medical equipment for home-bound residents before the advent of home health and immunizing thousands of children. She was fearless in her advocacy for anyone who was in need – not only in her vocation but in her life. Having grown up in poverty, she never ignored a request and never turned down a late-night phone call, a knock on the door or a question about anything from a rash to a heart attack. Residents in her hometown consistently consulted her before and after going to their doctors to see “what Miss V thinks”. Her ability to identify symptoms and make diagnoses was celebrated and she was once commended by a local physician for saving the eyesight of an infant when she tracked the child after she was abandoned by her mother. The State of Arkansas awarded her with several distinctions for her work in Public Health. She was responsible for building a modern health department building when the old one no longer held the staff needed to serve the county’s needs.

Evelynn enjoyed being with her family, working in her yard, making famous buttermilk pound cakes, dancing the jitterbug with LE, hosting large picnics and BBQ’s and visiting her neighbors in Hughes. She and L.E. were founding members of the First-Place award winning team “Sooie and the Piglets” in the Memphis in May International BBQ cooking contest in 1981. She loved to spend time with the grandchildren and great grandchildren and always had a big smile when the grands appeared to spend time on the porch at Alexian. She was especially gifted in welcoming new residents at Alexian’s Assisted Living residence and making sure that residents’ birthdays were recognized. She loved the entire staff at Alexian and made sure that their hard work and compassion were rewarded with hugs and praise.

Evelynn served in many positions at her home churches of Holy Cross Episcopal in West Memphis and St. Andrews Episcopal in Marianna, Arkansas. She joined St. Timothy’s on Signal Mountain and was served communion at home every Sunday by a team of her beloved Lay Eucharistic Visitors who came to be her close friends and confidants.

In addition to her parents, Evelynn was predeceased by her husband, L.E. Vanderford of Hughes, Arkansas, her son Lee Jamerson Vanderford of Marianna, Arkansas, her eight siblings: MacDonald Tucker, Gwen Tucker Edwards, Bert Tucker, Betty Tucker Wells, Robert “Bojo” Tucker, Era Tucker Artz, Josephine Tucker, Roy Tucker; her nephews David and Michael Tucker and Steven Artz and her niece Donna Kaye Marotti.

She leaves her daughter Lynn Vanderford Schmissrauter (Joey) of Signal Mountain, grandchildren Renee Vanderford Golzar (Jaafer) of Chicago, Philip Thomas Vanderford and husband Chase Devasier of Dallas, Shelley Schmissrauter Kay (Chris) of Signal Mountain, Joseph Schmissrauter III of Chattanooga, Steven Schmissrauter and partner Allison Mitchell of Dalton, Georgia. Great grandchildren include Yusef and Ariana Golzar, and Grayson and Maddox Kay. She also leaves beloved nieces Dianne Youngblood, Doris Ann Epperson, Tommie Lavern Grissom, and nephew Bill Marotti.

Evelynn’s family gives special thanks for dear friends Charlie and Melinda Patrick, “adopted” daughters Snowe Green and Daisy Elliott, Alexian friends Betty Sherill, Cauley Hayes, Peggy Solomon, Fern Evers, Jack Stephenson, Patricia Connelly, Dreamer Vineyard, Chapin Miller, and Linda McKinney. We are particularly grateful for Hearth Hospice nurse Josh Youngman and the devoted and always caring staff at Alexian: Bobby, Jeremy, Michaela, Lizzie, Ashley, Claire, Cindy, Robin, Charlotte, Peggy, Jennifer, Amber and Jenny. These people made her last years happier, more comfortable and more meaningful.

A Celebration of Life will be held at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church on Signal Mountain later in the summer.

Memorial gifts may be directed to St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church at 630 Mississippi Avenue, Signal Mountain, TN 37377 or to MetMin at 4001 Rossville Blvd, Chattanooga, TN 37407.

Arrangements are under the care of the North Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory and Florist, 5401 Highway 153, Hixson.

Please share your thoughts and memories at www.chattanooganorthchapel.com