Kittery Point, ME - Eunice Abbie Lewis was born on September 28, 1924, the third of Charles and Mary Luther Lewis.  Her older brother, Adam Albert, was born prematurely and died as a result of her mother contracting the Spanish Influenza. She had been caring for her father, Adam, who also died of the virus. Eunice was named after her grandmothers, a fact which she lamented most of her life as she really didn't like her "old fashioned" name.

Life growing up in Kittery Point had many memories which she shared with her children as they were growing up.  Mom was especially close to her father. Charles was a fun-loving man while her mother was a more serious parent and definitely the one who insisted that the girls were proper young ladies.  Mom had great admiration for her mother, for her strength and caring personality. When Eunice was small Charles was elected to the Town Board of Kittery as a Selectman. She used to tell of going with him to deliver groceries to friends and neighbors who were suffering due to the Great Depression.  She remembered how the towns people loved to see "Charlie" coming down the road, as he usually had groceries for them.

Her home life was full of visits to family members, including William C. Williams, lighthouse keeper on Boon Island for 27 years. "Daddy Williams" lived in a house on Chauncy Creek Road after he left the lighthouse service and visits with him were a time Eunice and Marjorie, her older sister, looked forward to.  Another place she always enjoyed visiting was Grammy Emery who had raised Charles and his sister Nell after their mother died at a young age. As Dementia took Mom's short-term memory, her family was often treated to memories she had of her childhood. This was a gift we surely did not ever expect but really enjoyed. Mom's sense of humor was sharp, and she often told stories of fights she used to have with her sister - Usually over household chores which neither of them really enjoyed! Mom told us that Marjorie was the "good girl" and she was the "brat".

When Eunice was eleven, her beloved father suffered smoke inhalation while fighting a fire at the hotel next to Frisbee's Store. After a bout with Pneumonia he died at age 38 and the family's life was turned around.  Their mother had to go to work, and Eunice (age 11) and Marjorie (age 13) had to assume many of the household chores that once were done by their mother. Were it not for a large extended family, Mary and the girls would have really suffered. Aunts' Nell, Hat, and Myrt always made sure that their nieces had gifts for birthdays and Christmas as their mother was struggling to keep food on the table. Uncle Ellery, Uncle Earl, and Aunt Dot and their children lived across the street, and Earl did many of the chores that Chares would normally have done for his family. The Emory children were like siblings to Mom and Marjorie. Uncle Ellery was the protector of the young family and was a very important part of all of our lives until he died at nearly 100 years of age.  He even gave Mom away during her wedding in 1942 to a young soldier from New Jersey.

After her high school graduation from Traip Academy in 1942, Eunice married Eddie Evans, the soldier who was stationed at Fort Foster. After Eddie completed his time in the Army, the young family moved to Brooklyn, NY so he could work at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Robert was born in Brooklyn in 1948, but Mom never did like the city life and yearned to return to the seacoast of Maine. In 1950 that chance finally came when Dad was hired as a carpenter on the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. In 1955 they built the home on Haley Road where she lived until 2016 when she could no longer stay by herself.

The First Christian Church of Kittery point was part of Mom's life from the time she was born until her death at the age of 95. For most of her adult life she was a member of the Amicus Club and Sewing Bee. Many hours were spent sewing quilts, knitting baby sweaters, and doing anything she could to help her church. In the 1950s' and early 60s' the church had a "Thrift Shop" on Chauncey Creek Rd and many hours were spent at that small building. Everyone who worked there enjoyed a fellowship with their Christian friends while earning money to help support the ministry of First Christian. I can remember the most fun we had there was with Bessie Emery.  Anyone who knew her can surely appreciate what a good time we all had when she was there.

For most of our young lives each nice day was spent at Sea Point Beach during the summer. The beach crowd included Aunt Marjie, Nancy, Susan & Judy, Marly Boyer with Donna, Linda & Kim, Bernice, Joan& Russie Spinney, Hannah, Peter, and Paul McCloud, and the Evans Family. When Azalea Cutter was in town, she would also join us with Bruce and Alan, as would Marilyn Beyenberg with Merrillee and Billy.  At the time we didn't realize how lucky we were to have been able to enjoy such a special childhood.  Now we know just how hard these ladies worked to get all of their housework done so we could leave for the beach at 9:00 AM and stay until about 3:30 PM when they had to rush home to fix supper for the men.

Robert and I want to share just how special a mother and grandmother our Mom was. Her main focus in life was her family and next was her church. She never had a job outside of the home until she babysat for Billy Emery (Alice's oldest son) when he was an infant. Even then, she was a loving "great-aunt" to little Billy. We would like each of you to remember her – when you bake her favorite M&M cookies, when you take a walk at Fort Foster, when you feed the birds in the winter and watch them at the feeders, and when you dust your furniture so your house is "spic and span in case you have visitors". Be grateful for the people you have around you, for quiet times, for memories and stories, and most of all, be grateful for your family, for safety, for friends, for the future, and for love.

Services: A memorial service for Eunice will be held at the First Christian Church in Kittery Point.  The service will be livestreamed at https://my.gather.app/remember/eunice-evans on Monday, September 28, 2020 at 10am. Care of the Evans family has been entrusted to the J S Pelkey and Son Funeral Home.