Evelyn Waters was the daughter of Minnie M. Wolfe Waters and Charles A. Waters. Charles had worked for the railroad, and as a Knoxville police officer, and at the time of his death held the elected office of Knox County Tax Assessor. Minnie was then appointed to finish his term, and was re-elected twice.
Evelyn grew up near the zoo in the Park City neighborhood of Knoxville, Tennessee with her younger brother, who was known as Bud. She inherited the name Sarah from a grandmother, Sarah Marine. Christened Sarah Evelyn, she never used the Sarah, until she gave it to her youngest daughter, Sarah Josephine, or Sarah Jo, who gave it to her youngest daughter, Sarah Elizabeth now known simply as Sarah.
After high school Evelyn worked for a time at Millers Department Store. She told the story of a favorite manager (female) who took her on a buying trip to New York City, quite an opportunity for Evelyn at a young age. She married Ed Gilliland and had two children, but World War II offered work opportunities, and the recent depression was an extra motivation to grab a chance. She operated a lathe, fabricating brass artillery shellcasings. Eventually she and Ed both worked at the mysterious new "Clinton Engineer Works," as it was publicly known, which for Evelyn offered more money and probably a safer and cleaner work environment, as she moved into an office to handle secretarial, receptionist, personnel and library duties at the X-10 facility of the booming wartime Oak Ridge, a part of the topsecret Manhattan Project to enrich uranium for the first atomic bombs. Within a year, Ed died suddenly of cerebral hemorrhage, leaving Evelyn with two young children to raise on her own.
Contract Bridge was a popular pastime, and friends introduced Evelyn to a bridge partner who became her second life partner, husband and father of the next 3 children, Roland Dicks, a chem lab supervisor at the Y-12 plant. After the war they moved back to Knoxville and built a house. Over time they learned that Roland had a debilitating disease, Multiple Sclerosis. Roland had become an outside sales representative for a jeweler, watchmaker, and wholesaler of fine jewelry in Knoxville. The two of them went out into his territory and he taught her to sell for G & A Palmer Company (PalCo) and Alexander Herbst & Co. of Knoxville, and Tennessee Handbags of Dandridge, Tennessee. In this way Evelyn was able to provide for her large family, including her mother (who stayed at home to raise yet another family), and an increasingly disabled husband. This was in the early 1960's, when it was quite unusual for a woman to do such work. She said she would never have previously believed herself capable of making a "cold" sales call: on a new, unknown customer. Necessity can teach us many things about ourselves.
After several decades of outside sales, Evelyn took part-time work at the former Knoxville East Town Mall, at Wicks & Sticks. When that turned into full-time, she moved to Memphis Wholesale Wallcoverings, out west of downtown. After surgery to replace both knees, she finally retired completely.
Evelyn was preceded in death by her parents, younger brother, Bud, two husbands, and her youngest daughter in Florissant, Missouri. She was survived by four children, twelve grandchildren, and fourteen great grandchildren.
Evelyn grew up near the zoo in the Park City neighborhood of Knoxville, Tennessee with her younger brother, who was known as Bud. She inherited the name Sarah from a grandmother, Sarah Marine. Christened Sarah Evelyn, she never used the Sarah, until she gave it to her youngest daughter, Sarah Josephine, or Sarah Jo, who gave it to her youngest daughter, Sarah Elizabeth now known simply as Sarah.
After high school Evelyn worked for a time at Millers Department Store. She told the story of a favorite manager (female) who took her on a buying trip to New York City, quite an opportunity for Evelyn at a young age. She married Ed Gilliland and had two children, but World War II offered work opportunities, and the recent depression was an extra motivation to grab a chance. She operated a lathe, fabricating brass artillery shellcasings. Eventually she and Ed both worked at the mysterious new "Clinton Engineer Works," as it was publicly known, which for Evelyn offered more money and probably a safer and cleaner work environment, as she moved into an office to handle secretarial, receptionist, personnel and library duties at the X-10 facility of the booming wartime Oak Ridge, a part of the topsecret Manhattan Project to enrich uranium for the first atomic bombs. Within a year, Ed died suddenly of cerebral hemorrhage, leaving Evelyn with two young children to raise on her own.
Contract Bridge was a popular pastime, and friends introduced Evelyn to a bridge partner who became her second life partner, husband and father of the next 3 children, Roland Dicks, a chem lab supervisor at the Y-12 plant. After the war they moved back to Knoxville and built a house. Over time they learned that Roland had a debilitating disease, Multiple Sclerosis. Roland had become an outside sales representative for a jeweler, watchmaker, and wholesaler of fine jewelry in Knoxville. The two of them went out into his territory and he taught her to sell for G & A Palmer Company (PalCo) and Alexander Herbst & Co. of Knoxville, and Tennessee Handbags of Dandridge, Tennessee. In this way Evelyn was able to provide for her large family, including her mother (who stayed at home to raise yet another family), and an increasingly disabled husband. This was in the early 1960's, when it was quite unusual for a woman to do such work. She said she would never have previously believed herself capable of making a "cold" sales call: on a new, unknown customer. Necessity can teach us many things about ourselves.
After several decades of outside sales, Evelyn took part-time work at the former Knoxville East Town Mall, at Wicks & Sticks. When that turned into full-time, she moved to Memphis Wholesale Wallcoverings, out west of downtown. After surgery to replace both knees, she finally retired completely.
Evelyn was preceded in death by her parents, younger brother, Bud, two husbands, and her youngest daughter in Florissant, Missouri. She was survived by four children, twelve grandchildren, and fourteen great grandchildren.
Evelyn Waters was the daughter of Minnie M. Wolfe Waters and Charles A. Waters. Charles had worked for the railroad, and as a Knoxville police officer, and at the time of his death held the elected office of Knox County Tax Assessor. Minnie was then appointed to finish his term, and was re-elected twice.
Evelyn grew up near the zoo in the Park City neighborhood of Knoxville, Tennessee with her younger brother, who was known as Bud. She inherited the name Sarah from a grandmother, Sarah Marine. Christened Sarah Evelyn, she never used the Sarah, until she gave it to her youngest daughter, Sarah Josephine, or Sarah Jo, who gave it to her youngest daughter, Sarah Elizabeth now known simply as Sarah.
After high school Evelyn worked for a time at Millers Department Store. She told the story of a favorite manager (female) who took her on a buying trip to New York City, quite an opportunity for Evelyn at a young age. She married Ed Gilliland and had two children, but World War II offered work opportunities, and the recent depression was an extra motivation to grab a chance. She operated a lathe, fabricating brass artillery shellcasings. Eventually she and Ed both worked at the mysterious new "Clinton Engineer Works," as it was publicly known, which for Evelyn offered more money and probably a safer and cleaner work environment, as she moved into an office to handle secretarial, receptionist, personnel and library duties at the X-10 facility of the booming wartime Oak Ridge, a part of the topsecret Manhattan Project to enrich uranium for the first atomic bombs. Within a year, Ed died suddenly of cerebral hemorrhage, leaving Evelyn with two young children to raise on her own.
Contract Bridge was a popular pastime, and friends introduced Evelyn to a bridge partner who became her second life partner, husband and father of the next 3 children, Roland Dicks, a chem lab supervisor at the Y-12 plant. After the war they moved back to Knoxville and built a house. Over time they learned that Roland had a debilitating disease, Multiple Sclerosis. Roland had become an outside sales representative for a jeweler, watchmaker, and wholesaler of fine jewelry in Knoxville. The two of them went out into his territory and he taught her to sell for G & A Palmer Company (PalCo) and Alexander Herbst & Co. of Knoxville, and Tennessee Handbags of Dandridge, Tennessee. In this way Evelyn was able to provide for her large family, including her mother (who stayed at home to raise yet another family), and an increasingly disabled husband. This was in the early 1960's, when it was quite unusual for a woman to do such work. She said she would never have previously believed herself capable of making a "cold" sales call: on a new, unknown customer. Necessity can teach us many things about ourselves.
After several decades of outside sales, Evelyn took part-time work at the former Knoxville East Town Mall, at Wicks & Sticks. When that turned into full-time, she moved to Memphis Wholesale Wallcoverings, out west of downtown. After surgery to replace both knees, she finally retired completely.
Evelyn was preceded in death by her parents, younger brother, Bud, two husbands, and her youngest daughter in Florissant, Missouri. She was survived by four children, twelve grandchildren, and fourteen great grandchildren.
Evelyn grew up near the zoo in the Park City neighborhood of Knoxville, Tennessee with her younger brother, who was known as Bud. She inherited the name Sarah from a grandmother, Sarah Marine. Christened Sarah Evelyn, she never used the Sarah, until she gave it to her youngest daughter, Sarah Josephine, or Sarah Jo, who gave it to her youngest daughter, Sarah Elizabeth now known simply as Sarah.
After high school Evelyn worked for a time at Millers Department Store. She told the story of a favorite manager (female) who took her on a buying trip to New York City, quite an opportunity for Evelyn at a young age. She married Ed Gilliland and had two children, but World War II offered work opportunities, and the recent depression was an extra motivation to grab a chance. She operated a lathe, fabricating brass artillery shellcasings. Eventually she and Ed both worked at the mysterious new "Clinton Engineer Works," as it was publicly known, which for Evelyn offered more money and probably a safer and cleaner work environment, as she moved into an office to handle secretarial, receptionist, personnel and library duties at the X-10 facility of the booming wartime Oak Ridge, a part of the topsecret Manhattan Project to enrich uranium for the first atomic bombs. Within a year, Ed died suddenly of cerebral hemorrhage, leaving Evelyn with two young children to raise on her own.
Contract Bridge was a popular pastime, and friends introduced Evelyn to a bridge partner who became her second life partner, husband and father of the next 3 children, Roland Dicks, a chem lab supervisor at the Y-12 plant. After the war they moved back to Knoxville and built a house. Over time they learned that Roland had a debilitating disease, Multiple Sclerosis. Roland had become an outside sales representative for a jeweler, watchmaker, and wholesaler of fine jewelry in Knoxville. The two of them went out into his territory and he taught her to sell for G & A Palmer Company (PalCo) and Alexander Herbst & Co. of Knoxville, and Tennessee Handbags of Dandridge, Tennessee. In this way Evelyn was able to provide for her large family, including her mother (who stayed at home to raise yet another family), and an increasingly disabled husband. This was in the early 1960's, when it was quite unusual for a woman to do such work. She said she would never have previously believed herself capable of making a "cold" sales call: on a new, unknown customer. Necessity can teach us many things about ourselves.
After several decades of outside sales, Evelyn took part-time work at the former Knoxville East Town Mall, at Wicks & Sticks. When that turned into full-time, she moved to Memphis Wholesale Wallcoverings, out west of downtown. After surgery to replace both knees, she finally retired completely.
Evelyn was preceded in death by her parents, younger brother, Bud, two husbands, and her youngest daughter in Florissant, Missouri. She was survived by four children, twelve grandchildren, and fourteen great grandchildren.
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