Hazel L. Evins

Graveside services for Hazel L. Evins, 97, West Plains, Missouri, will be held at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, September 21, 2024, at Howell Memorial Park Cemetery, under the direction of Robertson-Drago Funeral Home.  

Mrs. Evins passed away on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, at Brooke Haven Healthcare in West Plains after a brief illness.

Hazel was born on March 8, 1927, in Earle, Arkansas, to Bessie Marie and Andrew Jackson Lesley, (she was named Victoria Irene Lesley) the youngest of eight children.  Her father died when Mrs. Evins was a year old.  She and four other siblings were placed in an orphanage for adoption.  She was subsequently adopted by Bertha Gilda Douglas and Madison L. Douglas of Willow Springs, Missouri, and her name was changed to Hazel Lee Douglas.

Mrs. Evins’ oldest brother, Ernest Lesley, made it his mission to find his brothers and sisters who were given up for adoption.  In 1952, he located Hazel in Eminence, Missouri, (she was the last one to be found) where she and Troy lived at the time.  A reunion of brothers and sisters, along with their birth mother, was held in Memphis, Tennessee, where three brothers and her biological mother lived.

Hazel married Troy F. Evins on November 29, 1946.  Together they raised three children:  Judy Fields, Ronald Evins, and Donald Evins.

Hazel was preceded in death by her husband, Troy, daughter, Judy Fields, granddaughter, Shelley Krecker, her biological and adoptive parents, and her seven brothers and sisters.

Mrs. Evins is survived by two sons, Ronald Evins (Sandra) of West Plains, and Donald Evins (Randy Mabe) of Winston-Salem, North Carolina; son-in-law, Donald Fields; grandchildren,  Scott Wood, Bryan Wood, and Matthew Evins; great grandchildren, Ryan Reid, Stanley Reid, Emily Wood, Noah Wood, Tricia Shultz, Dylan Evins, and Destiny Wood; and great-great-grandchild, Naomi Cameron.

Visitation will be held prior to the service, from 1:00 p.m. to 1:40 p.m., Saturday, at Robertson-Drago Funeral Home.  Memorial contributions may be made to Disabled American Veterans Chapter 43 and may be left at or mailed to Robertson-Drago Funeral Home, 211 West Main, West Plains, MO  65775.