JOE ROBERT EVANS, SR.

Joe Evans, age 89 passed away at his residence Saturday, June 4, 2022 .   A lifelong resident of Florala, he was born May 23, 1933 in Florala, Alabama the first of four children born to  Hubert Joe Evans and Helen Hicks Evans.  Joe grew up in Florala and attended school in Florala graduating with Covington County High School’s Class of 1952 where he and his buddies had played football for the infamous  Coach Buchanan for four years.   This friendship with his fellow teammates lasted a lifetime.  After graduation he attended the University of Alabama.  As the Korean Conflict escalated he served a tour of duty with the United States Army, being stationed in Colorado.  After completing his military obligation he returned to Florala and joined his father in the operation of Evans Funeral Home and Evans Men’s Wear.    As a young “available” guy he met and married a teacher from Enterprise who had just completed Troy State Teacher’s College and had taken her first teaching  position at Florala City School.  Joe and Betty Morgan  were married and  moved into Joe’s paternal grandmother’s home on North Fifth Street where they lived when both of their children were born.   They built their dream home on Lake Jackson and in 1970, Joe assumed ownership of  Evans Funeral Home from his father.  During this time he served terms as Florala’s Mayor.    He also served as President of the Alabama Funeral Director’s Association and served as a delegate from Alabama to the National  Funeral Director’s Convention in Pittsburg.  Trying his hand at something new, he bought out the Big R from Mrs. W. B. Stewart renaming it The Hut,  mostly a place for all of his former teammates and buddies to congregate in the mornings for coffee to while away the hours since Joe was notorious for always having “something going on” to the delight and entertainment of everyone.  Hardly ever personifying the image of a typical funeral director, his sincere compassion and caring for folks always shown through.  After the death of his wife Betty, Joe passed the baton to his son Joey in the ownership and operation of the decades owned family funeral home.  Joe and Shirley Simmons Miller were married in July 9, 2013 and even though  he passed all of the responsibilities of owning  the family business to Joey he still had a hands on presence when he and Shirley were not  traveling to see grandchildren, or vacationing at the beach.  As the years piled up his health began to fail, especially in the past several months and Shirley became not only his devoted wife but also his caregiver.   Joe will be laid to rest beside his first wife, the mother of his children,  beside his own father and mother.  Joe was a lifetime member of First United Methodist Church of Florala.    A life spent practically 100% in Florala, Alabama… that’s why he called it home.

A time of visitation will be Sunday, June 12, 2022 from 1 until 3 P.M. in Evans Funeral Home in Florala with the funeral beginning at 3P.M. in the funeral home.  Burial will follow in Greenwood Cemetery in Florala.