Evelyn Hendry Blackmon, 96, died in New Zion Community, Ona, Florida on November 21, 2017. She was born July 17, 1921 in New Zion to parents Arthur Samuel Hendry and Pearl McGullion Hendry. She graduated from Hardee High School in 1939, earned the Bachelor of Science from Florida Southern College and the Master of Education from the University of Florida. Evelyn was an educator in the public schools of Florida and Louisiana for 34 years, retiring in 1982. She was proud to be a sixth generation Floridian with deep ties in Hardee County. She was a devout Christian and a loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother who always looked positively to the future.

In retirement, Evelyn returned home to New Zion and was active in community affairs: Daughters of the American Revolution, VNA Charitable Foundation, Eastern Star, Woman's Club, Garden Club, and was a Pink Lady Volunteer. She was a past member of the First Baptist Church of Wauchula where she taught Adult Sunday School for many years and was a current member of New Zion Baptist Church, Ona, Florida.

Evelyn was preceded in death by her parents, her husband of 53 years, Dr. Charles Robert "Bob" Blackmon and her brother, Errington Lorimer Hendry. She is survived by her daughter Janet Beckley (Jim) of Ona, grandsons Jim Beckley III and his daughter Megan Beckley of Lutz, Florida, and David Beckley (Sarah) of Millwood, New York, nieces Carolyn Wyatt and Cynthia Ballard, nephews John Hendry and Richard Hendry, and their extended families, cousins, and many friends.

A Memorial Service will be held on Thursday, November 30, 2017 at New Zion Baptist Church, Ona, Florida at 10:30 AM. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the New Zion Baptist Church Cemetery Trust Fund, 202 Sidney Roberts Road, Ona, Florida 33865.