Evelyn Compton

Evelyn Compton was a wonderful woman, who lived a long and full life, a life full of hard work, family and friendship. Her life wasn't always easy, yet she turned every challenge into triumph, through her own inner strength and love for her family. Evelyn was a devoted wife, loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, whose love lives on in them today.

Evelyn's story began on a mild winter day in 1912, in the rolling fields of Van Buren County in Southwest Michigan. Those were fascinating times in this country, the birth of a new era, with the airplane and the automobile about to change the world as we knew it forever. On March 6, 1912, Frank and Roxanna (Farnsworth) Stoughton experienced their own big change, with the birth of a beautiful baby girl, a daughter they named Evelyn Marie.

Evelyn was raised in the Bloomingdale area, where she was one of eight kids on the family farm, joining siblings Nina, Mildred, Morris, Clifford, Lily, Eva, and Creola. Evelyn attended Paw Paw Schools, and graduated from Paw Paw High School, before heading off to Western Michigan University for two years of college. She found work in accounting while going to school, and then took a job as a phone operator and eventually chief operator in Paw Paw.

Shortly after college, Evelyn was working part-time as a waitress at the Hotel de Hamburger, a diner made from a converted railroad car in Paw Paw. There she met a handsome young man named Carl Compton, and the sparks flew between them. They were soon married, and not long after, the newlyweds started becoming parents, too!

Evelyn and Carl were blessed with seven children in the coming years, Gerald, Elsie, Floyd, Ronald, Mildred, Carllyn, and Jim, who meant so much to them in their lives. When World War II broke out, Carl was sent a draft notice. By then a father of five, he didn't want to risk leaving his wife and children without a father, so he was granted 72 hours to find work on a farm or he had to enlist. So he worked a deal on a few head of cattle and few tractors, and made a go of it farming.

The money was very, very tight in those years, and Evelyn worked as a supervisor at the Allegan telephone company in addition to caring for the family, retiring after 35 years there. The kids all helped out, with the older ones caring for the younger ones, and helping around the farm. Times were so tough the kids had to walk through the harvested field stepping on corn stalks, looking for remaining pieces to feed the cattle! The family's farm was located on M-43 in Van Buren County, and in 1960, the family moved into Paw Paw for good.

Evelyn was a wonderful, hardworking mother, who instilled in her children the importance of working hard, and the importance of education, as well. They did much as a family together, as well, and traveled all over the country in their travel trailer, visiting so many places every year for a decade. Evelyn was a wonderful organist, and she even had her own small organ she took on the trailer to entertain the family. Her sister Creola also played piano by ear, and Creola would play and Evelyn would sing, quite the dynamic duo!

In the wintertime for a few years, they sold Christmas trees in Arizona, taking that trailer out west for vacation, and to earn a little extra money while they were at it. Evelyn and Carl worked hard, but they also enjoyed the fruits of their labor, too. They were one of the first families in their area to have a color TV set, and their grandkids loved to come over and watch the TV and drink a few bottles of Pepsi.

Evelyn's grandkids, and later great-grandkids, were truly the light of her life. She welcomed each of her new family members and beamed with pride at the sight of them. And her grandkids adored their grandmother, too. Evelyn was loved by everyone who met her, though, and she made friends easily and everywhere she and Carl went, thanks to her easygoing demeanor and comforting way about her, always giving others the benefit of the doubt.

Evelyn was simply a joy to be near, and a woman who found so much joy in the world around her. She loved so many things, from working in her lovely flower garden, to reading all kinds of books, to watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy at night and Crystal Cathedral on Sundays. She loved country music, and going for drives in the country, too. She rarely took the same road twice, enjoying the sights on her journey. As she got older, this was even more important, as her kids would take her out to eat and for a drive.

Evelyn was also a wonderful cook, while Carl was the baker in the family. She was very independent, and after her husband sadly died, she continued to live on her own and take care of herself until the last few months of her life. Sadly, Evelyn died peacefully on Monday, March 12, 2007, at Tendercare of Portage.

Evelyn was a wonderful woman, such a hardworking, caring and compassionate lady. She lived a long and full life, a life full of so much love for her friends, her family, and the world around her. Today her life, and her love, lives on in all who knew her. She will be greatly missed.

Learn more about Evelyn, view her Life Story film and visit with her family and friends on Friday from 2:00-4:00 and 6:00-8:00 at the Life Story Funeral Home, Betzler & Thompson, 60900 M-40 Paw Paw, 657-3870 where a service to honor her life will be held Saturday 11:00 AM with Pastor Randy Burnett, speaking. Interment will follow at Wildey Cemetery, Paw Paw followed by food and fellowship at the Antwerp Township Hall. Preceding her in death was her husband Carl, son Gerald and his wife, Viola,, grandson Kyle, a daughter-in-law, Doris. Evelyn is survived 6 children; Elsie (Lloyd) Hose of Mattawan, Floyd (Jill Morton) Compton of Kalamazoo, Ronald (Rosemary) Compton of Decatur, Mildred "Mic" (Ben) Ritsema of Paw Paw, Carllyn "Carl" Compton of Portage, Jim (Isabelle) Compton of Lahabra, CA, and several, grand, great and great-great grandchildren. To read Evelyn's complete Life Story, share a favorite memory, or a make memorial contribution to the Van Buren County Chapter of the Red Cross, please visit her personal web page at www.lifestorynet.com.