Since my birth in 1964, I’ve been blessed with sixteen great aunts and I was fortunate to know each of them, except the Jolliff aunts.

My paternal great-aunts: (The Richardsons) Shirley, Corrine, Mary Ruth, Kay, Sue, Carolyn, and (Jolliff) Jean, and four others.

The maternal great-aunts, Joyce (Clary), (the Barmeses) Evelyn, Norma, and Bonnie.

All but three of my great-aunts have passed and I’m so fortunate to have had them in my life.

Today is the angelic 97th birthday of my great-aunt, Evelyn Barmes Smith, my Grandpa Leroy’s younger sister.

Aunt Evelyn, or Aunt Ebbie, as she was affectionately known, was born December 19, 1923, and passed away on May 11, 1996.

She married Dewey Smith of Monon, Indiana, and they settled in Elwood, Indiana, and raised four children, Judy, Janice, Dewey, and Kevin. Sadly, Jan and Kevin were both taken by pancreatic cancer just a few years apart.

The Smith children grew up with my mother’s family just a few blocks away. Later, Uncle Dewey and Aunt Evelyn moved several blocks away from where I grew up. Like their mother, and Barmes grandparents, the Smith quartet was red headed.

I grew up on the stories of what a great cook Grandma Thelma (Evelyn’s mother) was, but it is hard to imagine anyone who could cook or bake better than Aunt Evelyn. My Washington Elementary School teachers who had also had my mother, uncles, and Smith cousins in class, often commented on Aunt Evelyn’s baked goods and candies.

Evelyn Barmes Smith December 19, 1923 – May 11, 1996

Happy angelic birthday, Aunt Evelyn!