Evelyn Alice Schmid

Evelyn Alice Mahoney was born on September 24, 1932 in Kansas City, Missouri, during the Great Depression. She was the only surviving child of her parents, proud Catholic proletarians.

After a series of failed businesses, her father, Terrence Patrick Mahoney, was fortunate to get a lifelong job on the railroad for Kansas City Southern from where he retired. He was known for pranks and having a wicked sense of humor. Her mother, Ruby, was known as a sweet, affectionate, and devout Catholic woman.

Evelyn grew up planning to become a Catholic nun until her mother discouraged her because she was an only child and her mother wanted grandchildren.

Evelyn graduated early from East High School in Kansas City, Missouri. She made many lifelong friends there. Despite her intellect, her parents followed the sexism of the era and discouraged her from attending college. She always fatefully recalled and regretted that decision. It colored her views for life.

At a young age, she met a charming, handsome, former juvenile delinquent from the Joplin, Missouri area, Lloyd Hayes. She married Lloyd and went with him to California. In California, she gave birth to two beautiful sons, Terrence Lee, in 1956, and Bryant Laine in 1958. Lloyd did not maintain regular employment and was incarcerated during the births of both of his sons.

Soon, Evelyn returned to Kansas City with her two sons. In 1965, she met another charming ne’er-do-well – an auto mechanic named William Dean Boggs. Within several months, Evelyn and Dean, as he was known, married. Dean adopted Bryant and Terrence, giving them his surname. In 1968, Evelyn gave birth to another son, William Dean Boggs II. The couple divorced within two years of the birth of their son.

Evelyn worked multiple jobs at the same time, sometimes as many as three, to support her sons, as a single mother. She was particularly proud to work at the Savoy Grill in Kansas City, Missouri, in its original heyday as the finest restaurant in the city. There she met many famous figures -- actors, politicians, and local athletes including Jan Stenerud. Eventually, she gained full-time employment and retired from work at the Social Security Administration after over 30 years.

Evelyn continued her love of and attraction to, “Bad Boys,” until she met John Tongue, of Independence, Missouri in her later years. John was a reformed rogue and became the true “love of her life” until his death in 2011. She was devastated by the loss and regretted that she had to wait until so late in life to find true love.

Evelyn had an intense curiosity about everything. Her greatest phobia was a “fear of missing out.” Evelyn wanted to taste every food and travel everywhere. She never picked up a book she didn’t want to read. She was a very proud American and travelled across the country by Greyhound Bus. She also made two trips to Hawaii, one of her favorite destinations. In her adult life, Evelyn became an international traveler, visiting China, with multiple trips to Europe, including Italy, France, Germany, Ireland, the UK, and Switzerland. She took pride that she read two newspapers every day.

As a middle-aged adult, Evelyn was thrilled to finally attend college and receive an Associate Degree from the Kansas City Metropolitan Community College.

Evelyn was very proud of her proletarian background and instilled those values in her children. Her uncle was a Socialist mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota, running on the Minnesota Farmer-Laborer ticket. A street is named after him there. Evelyn always identified with the underdog and spoke out against injustices around her. She cared more about speaking out against social injustice than the consequences. She loved her friendships but she was not shy about arguing or disagreeing over politics. She could be an introvert but she was open and talkative with her friends. She was lovingly described, as lacking a “filter,” at times.

In most ways, Evelyn was personally very proper but she idolized irreverence and those who questioned authority. In her whole life, her children heard her use a curse word only once and she never used slang or crude terms to describe bathroom or anatomical matters.

She had an excellent sense of humor and loved to laugh but she found, “bathroom humor,” and most slapstick to be unworthy. Her favorite New Year’s Eve was when she attended a party with local KC atheists and at midnight, everyone went to the roof and shouted, “Death to the Shah!”

Evelyn was 5’2” tall and most of her life had only a high school education but she had no fear to challenge authority or speak her mind. She could be enormously stubborn but easily persuaded by logic.

Evelyn was immensely proud of her children and their accomplishments, especially her grandson, Benjamin, a law student completing his final year.

She is survived by her son Terrence Lee Boggs, 63, of Houston, Texas; her son, William Dean Boggs II, 51, of Austin, Texas; her grandson, Benjamin Terrence Boggs, 27, of Cleveland, Ohio. She is preceded in death by her son, Bryant Laine Boggs, and her grandson, Terry Cook.

Services for Evelyn will be held at Newcomer’s Floral Hills, 7000 Blue Ridge Boulevard, in Kansas City, Missouri on January 2, 2020, with visitation beginning at 11am. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to The Animal Rescue Alliance (https://www.tarasdream.org/) in the name of her beloved cat, Casper.

The family wishes to thank the staff of Centerpoint Hospital, Kansas City Hospice House, Evelyn’s many friends at Senior Center at Vesper Hall in Blue Springs, and Newcomer’s Funeral Home for their care and dedication. Also providing support are Melissa Bowers, Caroline Brady, Becky Chadwick, Hazel Crane, Monica Davis, Brett and Jill Gordon, Virginia Keithley of TARA, Gerrad Maxwell, Mike Rodgers, Wendy Schafer, Dee Skivers, Alan Waterman, Heather Wiley, David Witcher, and Amy Jo Young.

We also wish to thank Marlena Polowy, Susan Goettsche, and Carlotta Lepingwell for their loving support.