Evelyn “Evie” Underwood was born on Jan. 14, 1948, to Duane Underwood and Lillian Falk Underwood in Del Norte. She transitioned peacefully in the love of God, at home on her beloved family ranch on Saturday, July 16, 2022. Evelyn was surrounded by her loving family, as well as her dear, irrigation-ditch-loving, dog Inka. Evelyn was understated, gentle, kind, and caring from the beginning to the end.
Throughout Evelyn’s childhood, she enjoyed riding horses, playing with her dogs, raising chickens, and, of course, spending time with her older sister Patti. By sixth grade, she was an avid reader and was able to read quickly and with full comprehension, able to distill themes and intersections others often missed. Reading continued to be a pleasure throughout her lifetime as she was intrigued by learning.
After graduating from high school, Evelyn attended Grinnell College, on completion of her Bachelor of Arts degree. She then attended The University of Minnesota Law School. Evelyn was admitted to practice law in Colorado and Texas. For a brief time, she practiced law in Germany for the Judge Advocate General’s Corp (JAG). After returning from Germany Evelyn continued practicing law and owned a private law office in Del Norte. She was a member of P.E.O. and Twin Mountain Ladies Aid and was active in Pioneer United Church.
Evelyn loved God’s creatures and throughout her time on Earth, she enjoyed the presence of cows, yaks, goats, horses, dogs, and cats. She also spent numerous hours working on her vegetable garden. She was always game for an adventure: camping, fishing on the Rio Grande, foraging for culinary mushrooms, and traveling with family and friends. In addition, her appreciation and blessing of living were astonishing, and she was beyond grateful for the life on “the ranch”.
Evelyn was preceded in death by her beloved parents, Elmer Duane and Lillian (Falk) Underwood, uncles Fred and Lester Falk, her niece Traci (Grimwood) Gillespie, and nephew Jeff Grimwood.
She is survived by her sister Patricia (Underwood) Cook and Patti’s husband Curtis Cook. Additionally, she is survived by her nephew Justin (Morris) Grimwood and his wife Kara Grimwood, an RN, who lovingly cared for her Aunt Evie as her hospice nurse, going above and beyond to ensure Evie had joy, fun, and quality of life ‘til her last breath. Aunt Evie is also
survived by Justin and Kara’s children: great nephews Brandon and Lane Grimwood, great niece Ariana Grimwood, as well as her nephew Jeff’s daughter Samantha Grimwood.
The family will celebrate the life of Evie, with the disposition of her ashes on the family farm, at a later date.