Evangeline C. Braxton was born on January 7, 1936 in Whiteville, North Carolina. She was the youngest of eight children of the late Camon Boyd Moore and Lula Webb Moore. On May 7, 2021, God called her home to live in eternal peace.
After attending grade school in Christian Plain, NC, she moved to Cape May Court House, New Jersey to reside with her older sister and her family. Each summer, she would return home to North Carolina to work on the farm with her brothers and sisters. “Van”, as she was frequently called, loved music, and valued education. She was proud of her Native American heritage and it was this pride that fueled her hard work ethic and devotion to family.
She attended and graduated from Middle Township High School in New Jersey in 1954. After spending a year at Johnson C. Smith University, she transferred to Knoxville College in Tennessee, where she graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education in 1958. It was there at Knoxville College where she met her first husband, Dave Cook, father of her two children, Davanna Jean (1967) and Dayna Victoria (1970).
Once she graduated from college, Evangeline moved to her husband’s home town of Pittsburgh to teach music. In 1959, they relocated to Phoenix, Arizona, where Evangeline furthered her education at ASU to receive certificates in Elementary Education and Adult Education. As a talented pianist, vocalist, and guitarist, Evangeline dedicated her life to teaching and performing music in the Roosevelt School District for 36 years. She also found her church family at Southminster Presbyterian Church, where she continued her service by playing piano, and was a dedicated member and a servant of God.
Evangeline married her second husband Wilbert Thomas Braxton of Wilmington, Delaware in June 1995. Together, they spent their retirement traveling to multiple countries around the world, taking cross-country road trips, dancing, touring, cruising and staying physically active. They remained devoted companions until his passing in December 2019.
Above everything, Evangeline loved her children and grandchildren. Her home was filled with the smell of her cooking, her piano playing and singing. She put all of her energy into improving the lives of her daughters, and worked tirelessly to provide opportunities for them that would set them up for success. She instilled in her family the importance of faith, courage, strength and perseverance.
Evangeline was preceded in death by her husband Wilbert Thomas Braxton, her children’s father David Berry Cook, Jr., and her siblings: Wesley Boyd Moore, Lula Estelle Moore, Homer Lee Moore, William Lawrence Moore, Etta Beatrice Moore and Naomi Masei. She is survived by her two daughters, Davanna Jean Kirksey (Allen Kirksey), Chandler, AZ and Dayna Cook Monroe (Stephen Pann), Litchfield Park, AZ; two grandchildren, John Thomas Simon (David Campbell), Scottsdale, AZ and Victoria Grace Monroe, Litchfield Park, AZ; one brother, Bartie “Pete” Moore, Whiteville, NC, in addition to many nieces, nephews, friends, colleagues and a host of Tom’s loving family members from around the country.
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