Mr. Burford Elonzo Evans' Obituary
Burford Elonzo Evans was born in Golinda, Texas on July 20, 1931. He was the son of Mose and Lou Versie Evans. Mose had been the son of a slave and Lou Versie’s parents were immigrants from Mexico. He and his sister Yvonne, or Maggie as she was called, grew up very poor, as most black folks were in that time in the South. His parents taught him to work hard and when the opportunity presented itself, he joined the Air Force. He was not allowed to fly because he was too young! He lied about his age when he joined but was able to serve five years before being honorably discharged in 1955.
He met Alice Marie O’Banion and wisely married her in August 1956! He began his job at the VA Hospital right away and they started a family. In the years that followed, they had three(3) beautiful daughters, Monica, Michelle and Marsha.
Burford had always been an artist! He had drawn and sketched since he as a boy but when he was 25, while in the Air Force, he stole away to sit on steps of the Sorbonne, a prestigious Art School in France. He drew the attention of the artists and teachers there and learned more about his craft. When he returned to the States, although he worked a regular job, he created beautiful paintings and sketched at night and on the weekends. Soon he began having Art Exhibitions in Hotel Ballrooms with his wife and children helping to hang and label the art! He gained notoriety from these exhibitions and was later asked to create works for Universities, Associations, celebrated individuals and Art Galleries! He has been recognized all over the world for his brilliant works. Most notably the W. E. B. Dubois series. He was active in Civil Rights and used his art to illustrate the plight of the black men and women of his Era.
He is preceded in death by his beautiful wife Alice and his daughter Marsha. He is survived by his daughters Michelle and Monica, two grandchildren Alicia and Alexa, three great granddaughters, Yuvi, Yara and Yael, his sister Yvonne, Nieces Beryl, Vicki and Janelle, Nephews Charles, Bruce, Reginald and Jerrod.
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