Evelyn Carole McCune

Evelyn Carole McCune passed away peacefully in her sleep on Dec. 3, 2025, in Houston, Texas. She was a resident of Belmont Village West University for the past six years, where she enjoyed daily activities with the Circle of Friends group. Carole died 13 years to the date of her beloved husband, Enoch Maxwell “Mac” McCune. Carole was known for her sharp wit and snappy comebacks, even through her years of decline from vascular dementia.

Carole was born April 16, 1936, in Hot Springs, Arkansas, to John Homer Summers and Evelyn Joyce Beaty. After welcoming son John Beaty “Jack” Summers, the family moved to Houston in 1943 when her father served as the choirmaster and organist at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in what is now the Museum District. The family returned to Little Rock in 1946 when John took a similar position with First United Methodist Church, and for his children to be closer to their grandparents.

Carole was bright and sociable, a lifelong pianist who majored in music at the University of Arkansas Fayetteville. She was active with Pi Beta Phi sorority, and was assigned as the accompanist for Mac, a violin major who soon transferred from UA to complete his education elsewhere. After earning her bachelor’s degree, Carole attended The Julliard School in New York, leaving after one semester to marry college boyfriend John Pierre Blondeau and start a family, eventually settling in Houston. They were married for 19 years and welcomed four daughters into the world.

Carole was a stay-at-home mother for several years. When her youngest daughter Claire was in kindergarten, Carole completed secretarial school at Lollie Lowe Career College. She then was hired by Nabisco as an administrative assistant in the bakery office, and also produced the company newsletter.

Carole was a talented alto vocalist and was an active member of Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Houston for many years. She and her choir buddies gathered for wine and cheese night after weekly rehearsals, and the group vacationed together during the summers at Pirate’s Beach in Galveston.

A few years after Carole and Pierre dissolved their marriage, Carole and Mac reconnected with the encouragement of a mutual friend from UA. After a brief courtship, they married at Christ Church and Carole relocated from Houston to Long Island, where Mac was a music teacher for the Huntington school district. Carole took a position as a school secretary, and they resumed playing duets together as they had in college. Carole also joined the choir of Christ Church, Oyster Bay.

Mac and Carole shared an active life. Mac introduced Carole to birdwatching, and they were longtime members of the Audubon Society, participating in the annual Christmas Bird Count. They traveled extensively to increase their birding life lists, hiking in places such as Panama, the Galapagos Islands, and the Dry Tortugas, as well as throughout the United States. Mac also introduced Carole to golf.

Upon Mac’s retirement, the couple relocated to Hot Springs Village, Arkansas, where they frequented the community’s nine golf courses. Carole joined a church choir in Little Rock, and also attended to her aging parents’ needs until they passed away. Mac and Carole enjoyed a 30-year marriage until his passing in 2012. Shortly afterward, she relocated to Houston to be closer to family.

Carole is survived by daughters Janet Suzanne Blondeau, Sharon Elaine Blondeau, Annette Amanda Radvansky (Michael), and Claire Evelyn Blondeau (Christian Sokoll); nieces Heather Summers Parsons (James) and Laurel Mack (J.T.); sister-in-law Dayle McCune; stepchildren Kathy McCune Keegan, Karen McCune Nolan, and John McCune (Molly); and several grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her brother and sister-in-law, Jack and Clarissa Summers, brother-in-law Wendell Wade “Bud” McCune, and stepdaughter Melissa McCune, and ex-husband, Pierre Blondeau.

Services will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at Pinecrest Memorial Park in Alexander, Arkansas. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a gift to the Alzheimer's Association.