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Evelyn Coeta Mitchell, the youngest child of Clyde Alva Mitchell and Georgette Dunn Mitchell, was born on August 1, 1922. Her parents came by train to Oklahoma from Missouri shortly after statehood. She was the born in Chaney, Oklahoma and was a child of the depression and the Oklahoma Dust Bowl. Her long life of 100 years, 7 months spanned the horse and buggy era of the early 20th century to the technological age of the early 21st century.
Evelyn was the youngest of six children of Clyde and Georgette Dunn Mitchell who were life-long farmers north of Shattuck. Clyde was well-known for delivering the mail by horse, buggy or model T Ford. Georgette was an accomplished musician, celebrated by the community for her accomplished piano playing and the quartets and duets presented by her 6 children at the Catesby and Gage United Methodist Churches. Evelyn and her siblings sang at funerals, weddings and special occasions accompanied by their mother.
Evelyn grew up in rural Oklahoma and attended the Mount Hope one-room school in Catesby, Oklahoma, until old enough to pass the 8th grade exam to attend high school in Shattuck. Her final year of high school was in Gage after her parents retired and moved from north of Shattuck to Gage.
Evelyn first married Leo Elgie “Red” Chastain and they established a home in the Shattuck area. Three daughters were born to this union: Carole Lynne, Barbara Jean and Sherry Lee. After their divorce, Evelyn moved to Oklahoma City and became one of the first female XRay Technicians in 1952, where she practiced until 1968. At that time she was asked to head the XRay department at the new Edmond Hospital, Edmond, Oklahoma. While working a full-time job, she went to Oklahoma City University. Her prodigious memory allowed her to complete her Bachelor of Science degree in two years and she started a new career as an educator. Her first job was as a middle school science teacher in a Title 9 San Antonio inner city school. From there she joined the Bureau of Indian Affairs and worked on the Cheyenne Sioux Indian Reservation in Eagle Butte, South Dakota and on the Hopi Indian Reservation in Moenkopi, Arizona.
During this period her adventurous spirit took her to Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippine Islands, Hong Kong and all of the western and southern states. She was an intrepid traveler and took trail rides in Colorado, rode a mule down the Grand Canyon, went rafting on the Pagsanjan River in Asia and hiked up Mount Taal volcano. Evelyn loved learning and continued her education at Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff Arizona with certifications in reading and special education.
In 1981 she and John Thomas, a childhood friend from the Arnett, Oklahoma area renewed their friendship and married. They ranched in the Arnett area until retirement when they moved to Woodward, Oklahoma. In Woodward, Evelyn volunteered at the local Senior Center, drove a bus for seniors, and delivered Meals on Wheels. She was a member of club and was an accomplished quilter, lace maker and stitcher of fine needlework.
John and Evelyn were avid OSU fans and in addition to volunteer work, spent many years with season tickets to football, basketball, and wrestling. Their love of sports extended to the local high school sports programs. Her inquisitive nature led to many years of traveling with John to visit her children. As a couple, they vacationed in Arizona, New Mexico, South Texas, Canada, Alaska, Barbados, New York, all of the New England and Atlantic Seaboard states.
When the Thomas’ finally moved to Gage, Evelyn indulged her love of gardening. Her yard on Main Street was a showplace and they lived there until January 2016. After John’s death, Evelyn moved to Mesa, Arizona to live out the remainder of her life with her daughter, many grandchildren and great grandchildren. She lived until she was 100 years old in a 55+ independent living community in Chandler, Arizona. While there, she participated in many group activities and took on-line courses in Spanish. She returned to the family farm north of Gage, Oklahoma every summer where she spent several months.
Evelyn Mitchell Chastain Thomas was preceded in death by her father Clyde Alva Mitchell and her mother, Georgette Dunn Mitchell, her brothers: Eric Lewis Mitchell, Fresno, California, Walter Mitchell, Amarillo, Texas, Charles Clifford Mitchell, Wickenburg, Arizona, Howard Ellis Mitchell, Prescott, Arizona, and her spouse of 37 years, John Lee Thomas, Gage, Oklahoma. She is survived by her sister, Eleanor Mitchell McLaughlin, Pollock Pines, California, and her daughters and their families: Carole Chastaing, Mesa, Arizona, Barbara and Jack Fesler, Edina, Minnesota, Sherry Chastain, Denton, Texas, 8 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren and many nephews, nieces and cousins.
Evelyn will be remembered as a storyteller with a sharp intellect, inquiring mind, rapier wit and well-honed sense of humor. She was loyal and dedicated to her profession, family and friends. She was a strong, independent woman and she was never idle. Her restless energy and sense of adventure was with her to the end of her long and productive life.
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