Mary Evelyn (Miles) Evans Draper

Mary Evelyn (Miles) Evans Draper, age 90, of New Castle, DE, passed away at her daughter’s home on Friday, November 15, 2019, surrounded by her loving family. Born in Saxis, VA on January 22, 1929, Mary was a daughter of the late Everett and Virginia (Bailey) Miles. A graduate of Longwood College in Virginia, she worked as a high school teacher in Denton, Maryland before making her home at Wilmington Manor school in New Castle, Delaware, where she taught second grade for over thirty years. Mary was a doting mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, as well as a loving friend, colleague and role model. Fondly known as “Sugy” to her grandchildren, Mary loved attending family gatherings, and played an active role in every part of her grandchildren’s lives. She enjoyed frequent trips to the Dollar Tree, Friday afternoons at the Farmer’s Market with “the girls”, bragging about her grandchildren to everyone she met, and telling anecdotes about her hometown, Saxis. Most of all, Mary’s kind nature and zest for life was an inspiration to all who knew her. Mary’s father summed it up best in a letter he wrote to her many years ago when he said, “I am without words to explain how much I love you. You are something like your darling mother. Someone said God patterned her after his best woman.” In addition to her parents, Mary was preceded in death by her first husband and father of her children, John F. Evans; son, John F. Evans II; and her recent husband, James Draper. She is survived by her daughter, Elizabeth Singleton (Paul) of New Castle, DE; her granddaughters, Frances Leary (Travis) of Newark, DE, and Michelle Schoen (Jeff) of New Castle, DE; and her great grandchildren, Mackenzie, Alex, Maddie and Wyatt. A visitation for family and friends will be held from 11:30 am until 12:30 pm on Saturday, December 7, 2019, at Spicer-Mullikin Funeral Home, 1000 North DuPont Parkway, New Castle, DE, where a memorial service will begin at 12:30 pm. A private interment will be held on a later date in Mary’s hometown of Saxis, VA at Miles Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Mary’s memory to Saxis Museum to M.K. Miles at P.O. Box 21 Saxis, VA 23427, and to Miles Cemetery to M.K. Miles at P.O. Box 37 Saxis, VA 23427.

Mary Evelyn (Miles) Evans Draper

January 22, 1929 - November 15, 2019