Mrs. Evelyn Elaine Gafford

Celebrating The Life Of Evelyn Elaine Gafford: Good morning loved ones, family and friends, today we are gathered here to celebrate my transition from labor to reward. So lets make this a memorable time because I am at peace and resting in the arms of the Lord. Allow me this opportunity to summarize my life for you as I have lived a wonderful life and shared so many experiences with all of you. I, Evelyn Elaine Gafford, (respectfully known as Auntee) born in Farmerville, Louisiana to Thelma Lee Johnson and Lewis Gafford on June 13, 1948. I was the first sibling born of six, two of which Mary Annabeth Gafford and Cedrick Gafford, preceded me in death. My parents both preceded me in death as well. At a very early age, my family and I relocated to Detroit, Michigan, where I accepted Christ at an early age and preceded to graduate from Pershing High School. After graduating, I attended Community College until I began my professional career at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan. I also formed a brief union with Skip Logan. From there I went to work at Detroit Edison where I retired with 25 years of service. As everyone knows, I really loved the Lord. I found my church home right here at 12th Street Missionary Baptist Church. Here I’ve devoted my life to carrying out God’s will by serving on various auxiliary committees; such as, assistant director of the youth usher board, food ministry and facilitated the graduation reception, which I said every year since 1996, this was my last year when Tulane and the rest of the youth she grew up with graduated, however I continued to do it for many years because I loved the youth of the church. On June 9, 1978, the Lord blessed me with a beautiful baby girl, Tulane Janet Gafford, that I had prayed for. I was so proud of her and would talk about her to everyone. She even inherited my ability to sing. In my earlier years, I was a part of a traveling gospel group by the name of, “Inspirational Sounds”. I absolutely loved music. From this experience, I developed a passion for traveling and seeing new places. One of my favorite forms of traveling was cruises. I recently took my last cruise, along with my family, and it was one of my most cherished memories. Some other things I enjoyed were, collecting life-like dolls and being an active member of the Detroit Mid-City Lions Club. Many organizations were near and dear to my heart, two of those, St. Jude and Barbara Karmanos.

Mrs. Evelyn Elaine Gafford

June 13, 1948 - May 2, 2017