Eva Agnes Theresa Collymore

Eva was from Kingston, Jamaica.

Eva grew up in a busy, loving household where the many siblings learned to share even as they engaged in the occasional rivalry or competed for their parents’ attention. Eva would often tell friends and family that as the large group gathered for meals, her mother would often share out the food, starting with the first-born child, so as not to skip anyone. Eva was always a loving daughter and supportive of her mother, who suffered the loss of a son who died when he was five months old.

Eva revered her family. As an adult, Eva often regaled people with stories about life with her siblings and parents, especially her father, who lived in Cuba for many years and spoke fluent Spanish. He also lived in Panama, where he became commissioner of police before returning to Jamaica.

Eva’s family loved music and enjoyed singing in church choirs. Music was one of Eva’s passions. She took lessons for several years, studying advanced classical piano and performing in recitals.

Like many young women of her generation, Eva married at a young age. She was 18 when she walked down the aisle for the first time. She went on to have two daughters, Pat and Candace.

Eva took the initiative to better herself. She attended night school in Kingston at the College of Arts, Science and Technology. She often talked about taking the bus at night so she could get home. Eva also learned to drive so that she could have a measure of independence and even had an international driver’s license.

In the years that followed, Eva continued to rear and nurture her two daughters. She saw to it that they were afforded a high-quality education so they could have more opportunities than were presented to her. She was proud of her daughters, who, combined, earned four degrees between them.

Eva took a leap of faith in 1978 due to political upheaval at the time in Jamaica. She left a prominent position at the U.S. Embassy in Kingston, taking Candace with her and relocating to Miami, Florida. Her other daughter was already attending university in California. Eva settled in Miami with help from the Jamaican community and found a job as Candace settled into junior high school.

Miami would not be a permanent home for Eva and Candace. Eva remarried in the early 1980’s, this time to a former diplomat who moved the family to the Atlanta, Georgia area. Candace completed high school there and went on to college and graduate school.

Eva loved her adopted country and the opportunities that it offered. One of her proudest moments was when she became a naturalized U.S. citizen at a ceremony held at an Atlanta courthouse. Candace also became a U.S. citizen at that time. Pat became a U.S. citizen shortly thereafter.

Eva continued to live and work in the Atlanta area, before leaving the workforce for good. She worked in the banking industry and at a non-profit, distinguishing herself by her professionalism and attention to detail. Her employers had a great deal of respect for her and her strict work ethic.

In her free time, one could often see Eva out in her garden, wearing a broad-brimmed hat, raking leaves or planting flowers as she nurtured her garden. She loved flowers and other plants. They often reminded her of Jamaica, with its ample flora and scenic beauty. Eva took pride in her yard. At one home, the impeccably manicured lawn garnered the distinction of “Yard of the Month.” Eva saw to it the sign was prominently displayed on the front lawn.

When she wasn’t tending to her garden, one might find Eva, a devout Catholic, watching a Mass on television. When Mass wasn’t on the air, one might have also found her watching the QVC home shopping channel. She enjoyed looking for bargains and often bought items that were given to friends and family as gifts. Eva and Candace were even featured on a WSB-TV segment on home shopping.

Eva was also a royal watcher and admired the late Queen Elizabeth of Britain. Eva loved to read stories about the former monarch. She also liked to read the newspaper to keep up with other events or solve the occasional puzzle.

Eva enjoyed baking her legendary Christmas fruit cake, which was really an English plum pudding since it was baked with a covered lid, and infused with Jamaican rum, wine, and a myriad of dried fruits.

Eva knew how to make the cake without a recipe. As a teenager, she had learned how to make the cake from her mother. Eva made that cake each year until her late 80s. She would make several batches and send them off to appreciative family and friends who couldn’t get enough. She also knew how to make meals without following a recipe. She would have given Martha Stewart a run for her money.

In her later years as she slowed down, Eva’s concerned daughters encouraged her to get around using a walker for safety. Eva, however, would have none of it, declaring at one point that walkers were for, in her words, “old people.”

Eva was one of a kind and will be missed.

She is survived by her two daughters as well as two sisters and numerous nieces and nephews, grand and great grand nieces and nephews.

A Mass in Eva's honor will be held Monday, Nov. 4, 2024 at 11 a.m. at St. Oliver Plunkett Catholic Church, 3200 Brooks Drive, SW, Snellville, GA 30078.

Donations may be made to the church's Friends of Martha funeral ministry.