Eva King Humphrey

Eva Ernestine King was born on June 14, 1933 in Boley, Oklahoma to Sebrone Jones King, Sr. and Eva Charles King. Eva was the eldest of four children born to this union. Eva’s siblings Jayne “Baby Doll”, Shirley and Marcellus predeceased her. Their father Sebrone was a prominent local businessman and Veterinarian. Her mother Eva was a teacher in the Okfuskee County school system.

Growing up, Eva went by Ernestine or Stine. She was separated from her siblings when she was only 8 when she went to live with her grandmother to help her out after the passing of her grandfather. Eva graduated as Valedictorian from Boley High School in 1950. After graduation, Eva moved to Washington, DC to attend Howard University and help raise her nephew, Sebrone “Snuffy” King, Jr., whose mother Ethel had passed away.

Eva earned her BS in Food and Nutrition from Howard University in 1955 and met her first love, Cortland Otis Dugger on Howard’s campus. The two married at the Home Management House on Howard’s campus on August 4, 1956. They lived for a time in Medford, MA with Cortland’s mother. Eva and Cortland moved to Cambridge, MA and added two children, Hilary and Cortland II to their family. Eva also joined Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, a sorority to which her mother-in-law, Madeline Dugger-Kelly, and Cortland’s sisters belonged.

Eva was a Nutritionist at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston from 1957-1962. Eva participated in the “New England Farm and Feed Program” show on WHDH TV Channel 5 in Boston from 1963-1964. Eva was a part-time Clinical Instructor at Lawrence Memorial Hospital from 1966-1971 while pursuing further studies. Eva earned a Master of Science degree in Home Economics and Education in 1970 from Simmons College. Eva became an Assistant Professor in Home Economics at Simmons from 1971-1976. A lifelong learner, Eva then went on to earn a second Master of Science Degree, this time in Nutrition, at Boston University in 1978.

When Cortland’s job took the family to Upper Marlboro, MD, Eva worked at Howard University, her alma mater, where she was a Registered and Licensed Dietitian, and over time became an Associate Professor. Eva chaired the Department of Nutritional Sciences in the College of Allied Health Sciences for several years. Eva earned her PhD from Howard University in 1989 with her dissertation “Dietary Intake and the Outcome of Pregnancy Among Urban Black Women”.

Eva was an Associate Professor at Howard from August 1979 to 1997 when she retired to raise her grandson Cortland O’Ryan Dugger (also known as Corty III). Raising Corty III was a joyful time of her life. Eva took him any and everywhere … from his baseball games and swim meets, to scouting meetings and on trips to Disney and other places. Food was always involved.

Eva began to build a new social life for herself after she and Cortland divorced in 2005. She was an avid baker, much to the delight of family and friends. Eva also returned to playing bridge, an interest she and her sister Jayne both enjoyed. At one social event she met a charming gentleman, William “Bill” Humphrey and the two were smitten with each other. They were married by Pastor Henry P. Davis, III in an intimate family ceremony at First Baptist Church of Highland Park on May 10th of 2013 when Eva was 79 and Bill was 82. They then celebrated their union at their home a few weeks later with a beautifully catered afternoon affair for friends, family and church family. Bill, a beloved Deacon at the church, “prayed me into the church” Eva was known to say. Eva helped around the church making floral arrangements with her dear friend Deacon Mozelle “Glayds” Fountain and participating in other church activities. Eva stayed by Bill’s side after he became ill. When Bill passed away in 2017, she was heartbroken.

Fiercely independent, Eva then kept herself busy with baking for friends, gardening, playing bridge and going to lunch and an occasional movie with her sister-in-law Mildred Goff. Eva was also an avid shopper and seamstress with a sense of style she developed at the John Robert Powers School, a “Finishing” school, in Boston in the early 1960’s.

Eva leaves to cherish her memory, her loving daughter Hilary (Angelo) Dugger Colbert and son Cortland Dugger, II; beloved grandson Cortland Ormond Dugger; her half-sister Hortense King McClinton; a host of nieces and nephews, bonus children and family of her beloved husband Bill. Eva will be remembered fondly by her Bowie Senior Center and other bridge club members, members of the Enterprise Estates community, and her beloved First Baptist Church of Highland Park family.