Evelyn Harper Weiskotten, 82, passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, on March 7, 2013, in Tallahassee, Florida. Born Evelyn Harper Estridge in Maysville, Kentucky, on April 23, 1930, Evelyn was the first of three daughters born to A.B. Estridge and Margaret Harper Estridge. Evelyn attended Wittenberg College in Springfield, Ohio, majoring in English Literature. There she met her future husband, Robert Fister Weiskotten, marrying in 1951.
During the early years of her marriage, Evelyn lived in Ohio, Massachusetts, and upstate New York, raising her three small daughters. In 1961, Robert’s career in management consulting took the family to Europe; first to Sweden, then in 1964, to Surrey, England, where their fourth child was born, and where they lived until 1971. During their time in Europe, the Weiskottens were fortunate to be able to travel extensively in Europe, and Evelyn particularly loved the time she spent visiting Scotland, France, the Netherlands, and Spain.
With her eldest daughter having already returned to the States to attend college, Evelyn returned in 1971, settling with her three younger children in Sarasota, where her parents had retired in the 1960’s, and where her two younger sisters had lived and attended high school. Sarasota would be her home for the next forty years. Evelyn began her employment with National Bank of Sarasota, as a customer service representative. By the time she retired twenty-five years later, she had risen to the level of Assistant Vice President of Operations, at what is now Bank of America
Evelyn was a passionate follower of politics, and a member of the Sarasota County Democratic Women’s Club. She also volunteered her services to the Guardian ad Litem Program of the 12th Judicial Circuit. For many years, she enjoyed Saturdays on the Siesta Key beaches with her two younger children; in her retirement, Evelyn was able to indulge her love of reading, movies, bird watching, and attending the world class art exhibits which came to the Ringling Museum.
Evelyn was predeceased by her parents, A.B. and Margaret Estridge, and her sister Ruth Estridge Hereford. Evelyn is survived by her sister, Margaret Hall Seago and husband Pierce T. Seago, Jr., of The Villages, Florida; her four children, Margaret Hall Smith, of Sarasota, Julie Grove Merritt and husband Phil Merritt, of Greenville, PA., Stacey Allen and husband Richard Bush, of Tallahassee, Tom Weiskotten and wife Jana Weiskotten, of Tallahassee, and eight grandchildren; Harper Smith, Sebastian Smith, Eda Clare (E.C.) Smith, Meryl Trick, Stephanie Trick Holmes, Noah Bush, Emma Weiskotten and Caroline Weiskotten.
Evelyn also leaves behind her beloved extended family: Nancy P. Grove, Rhea A. Hurwitz, Patty Ragland, Kathryn Collins, Julia D’Amico, Brooks Hereford and wife Donna, Lynne (Hereford) Bacaj and husband Faton, Lee Hereford, and Jill Hereford.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Evelyn’s memory may be made to Big Bend Hospice of Tallahassee or to Tidewell Hospice of Sarasota.
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