Evelyn Wills

Evelyn Elizabeth Wills died at her home in Coram on July 2, 2004. Her death gently released her from an illness of several years.

She was born in Tolley, N.D., to Sam and Myrtle Whitt on March 23, 1918. She had one sister, Marjorie, 14 months older. The family lost their farm to the Depression and made a memorable trip to the Big West Oil Field near Shelby when Evelyn was nine. She graduated from Sunburst High School and later married Bernt Lloyd Wills on Sept. 25, 1937, at her parents' home near Ferdig.

Her husband was a geographer and educator. The couple lived on the Crow Reservation near Harding where Lloyd was principal. They also resided in Havre, where Evelyn attended college for two years. They moved on to Worcester, Mass., Grand Forks, N.D., San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Evanston, Ill., where Evelyn typed and proofread her husband's dissertation for his Ph.D. By then the couple had two children, James and Karen. The family moved to Grand Forks, where Lloyd became head of the Geography Department at the University of North Dakota.

Evelyn was an accomplished homemaker who loved to sew for herself and daughter. She became an artist, working in oils. She headed a study of water quality for the state League of Women Voters, belonged to and participated in the United Methodist Church, Franklin Club, and Faculty Wives. Membership was bestowed on her in the '83 Club for her support of the University of North Dakota. She belonged to the Thursday Book Club. In 1966, she traveled to Australia, New Zealand and much of Europe with her son and her husband, who lectured at the University of Sydney for several months.

Evelyn cared for her beloved husband at home for seven years after his disability from strokes. Following his death, she continued to live in Grand Forks until 1994 when she moved to Coram to join her daughter in their home there.

She is survived by her son James, living in Bismarck, N.D., her daughter Karen, in Coram, and her grandchildren, Ian Swanson, of Washington, D.C., her granddaughter Elizabeth Swanson, of Missoula, her grandson Bradley Wills, of Bismarck, her grandson Brian Wills, his wife Tracey and their three children, in Kentland, Ind.

The family will hold a private sunrise service in Glacier National Park on Sunday, July 11, 2004. At noon on that day there will be a gathering at Evelyn's home for all her friends and neighbors to join in celebration of Evelyn's full and inspiring life.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be sent to the Bernt Lloyd Wills Memorial Geography Scholarship, P.O. Box 8157,Grand Forks ND, 58202.