Evelyn B. Nagler

Evelyn Nagler was a woman who loved children and loved the Lord. She knew God was watching over her every step of her life and that He would work all things out for good. Evelyn would frequently pray to God for guidance and would trust him to answer her prayers according to his plans. She was a woman of faith and she shared her faith with others as she reached out to children by assisting in a children's Bible program for the last few years.

September 19, 1917, Evelyn was born in Traverse City, MI to Frank and Anastasia Palmer. It was a time we call the Ballroom Decade and many restaurants were equipping their dining rooms with dance floors. Popular songs like "Alexander Ragtime Band," "Danny Boy," and "Ah! Sweet Mercy of Life" were all tunes that young Americans were dancing to in the era she was born in to. It would be ironic that she was born in the same year as the Red Cross won the Nobel Peace Prize (for their work on what the world would call "The Geneva Convention" ) as she too tried to always make the world a better place.

Evelyn had many fond memories growing up in Traverse City with her brother, Franklin. As children, Evelyn and Franklin enjoyed their own version of sledding by holding up two sticks with a sheet between them and sailing out into the bay. They sailed until they could hardly see land and the houses appeared as small dots on the horizon before Evelyn tapped Franklin on the shoulder and said it was time to return. They also enjoyed walking on the break water with the large jagged rocks that helped protect the bay. Neither one could swim, but they just wanted to get to the Light House at the end. They thought it was great fun to have the big waves crash around them as they jumped from rock to rock. Evelyn thought the world of her father and she felt that he could do anything and have a good time doing it. Once, he took apart a perfectly good alarm clock just to make a motorized toy boat for her. He also made homemade Dandelion wine that he freely shared with his friends. Her father enjoyed spoiling the kids by doing things like buying them candy even when their mother said no. He always brought joy to Evelyn's life. She would recall stories of how her dad had to turn a crank to start their first car and how it took only two weeks to travel to Florida down a narrow two-rut dirt road. The road was so rough that many people would not even attempt to drive it today, even with an S.U.V. Along the trip the family had to occasionally stop and assist other motorists that got stuck in the mud or had other problems. They camped along the side of the road each night. Evelyn grew up during the years of the Great Depression and she frequently had to eat soup for dinner and sometimes felt hungry at bedtime. After surviving those lean years, Evelyn vowed that nobody in her house would ever have to go to bed hungry and she rarely ate soup again. She grew up in a time where she saw many changes in the world, from horse and buggy, to automobiles and airplanes, to seeing men walk on the moon.

Evelyn was blessed to raise two beautiful children, Elizabeth and Frank. She showed her children unconditional love with lots of encouraging words and often saying "I love you" with great sincerity. She always told them they could do whatever they set their mind to, if they didn't give up and tried their best. She was involved in Elizabeth 's Girl Scouts as her leader and was also a part of the school PTA. Evelyn was a caring and devoted mother who graciously put the needs of others before her own. In time, she was blessed with six adoring grandchildren, Sarah, Evan & Julia Betzig, and Stacy, Sean & Travis Nagler. She stayed active in their lives as much as possible and enjoyed attending their various sporting events and school presentations. She even painted and raced a derby car with her grand kids.

Evelyn was an adventurous woman who loved to travel. She was lucky enough to have gone to Alaska, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Egypt and Israel . She looked forward to her trips to Florida which she took almost yearly. Evelyn was an easy-going traveler who could relax and go with the flow. She looked at life as an adventure and looked forward to seeing what was around the next corner. Evelyn even had the pleasure of experiencing a hot air balloon ride.

At home Evelyn enjoyed crochet and embroidery during her younger years. She later became interested in making crafts with fuse beads. She went through 22,000 beads. She also took care of the neighborhood squirrels, and not only fed them peanuts, but shelled them first so they wouldn't have to work so hard. At one point, Evelyn had eight squirrels in her back yard waiting for her to feed them. The birds got their share of food as well.

Evelyn was a caring and sacrificial woman who found great joy in serving others. She decided on a nursing career and graduated from Hurley Hospital School of Nursing. For years she worked for the Red Cross drawing blood as a registered nurse. Evelyn was a head nurse at the Red Cross before she retired at the age of 71. She was a woman with an enormous heart. She devoted herself to her love of family and compassion for others, especially children. Her love and passion will be fondly remembered and dearly missed.

Evelyn Nagler, age 87, passed away Saturday, August 6, 2005. Her family includes her children; Elizabeth (Ron) Betzig and Frank (Barbara) Nagler, six grandchildren; Sarah, Evan and Julia Betzig, Stacy, Sean and Travis Nagler, one brother, Franklin Palmer. To learn more about Evelyn's life, friends may visit with family 2:00p.m. to 4:00p.m. & 6:00p.m. to 8p.m. on Wednesday, August 10, 2005 at the Nie Lifestory Funeral Home, 2400 Carpenter Rd. A Celebration of Life service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Thursday, August 11, 2005 at Knox Presbyterian Church, 2065 S. Wagner Rd. in Ann Arbor with Rev. Tom Robinson officiating. The family will receive friends at the church Thursday morning from 10 a.m. until time of service. A private burial will be held at Deepdale Cemetery , Lansing, MI . Please visit Evelyn's personal memory page at www.lifestorynet.com, where you can share a memory, order flowers on-line or make a memorial contribution. Memorials may be made to Arbor Hospice, 2366 Oak Valley Dr., Ann Arbor, MI 48103 .