JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The year of 1925. Calvin Coolidge was our president. The cost of gas was between 20 to 30 cents a gallon.
It was also the year Jacksonville resident and great-grandmother Ola Evans was born.
News4JAX visited Mrs. Evans at her Northside home, where she lives with her daughter, Carole Mann, to wish the centenarian a happy birthday and, of course, find out her secrets to living a long life.
“Love the Lord and love people,” she tells News4JAX.
Easier said than done.
When asked how to do the “love people” part, she said, “Through prayer and supplication,” with a smile.
“Sometimes we don’t always do that, but we know how to go back and ask for forgiveness when we don’t do this. And growing in grace, I learned,” Evans added.
Mrs. Evans also shared a little bit of what she’s learned over the last century.
She was born and raised with her 2 brothers and 2 sisters, in Cordele, Georgia -- about 60 miles south of Macon. Mrs. Evans eventually had 3 children of her own.
Today, not only is she the oldest living alumnus from her high school class, but in her lifetime, Mrs. Evans told me she’s said goodbye to all of her siblings, 2 husbands, and 2 of her children.
“It bothered me for a while,” she admitted. “Through prayer and supplication, I can learn how to get through it.”
Mrs. Evans graduated from Florida Community College at Jacksonville -- now, Florida State College at Jacksonville.
She worked for nearly 30 years as a food services manager with Duval County Schools.
When she retired in 1985, she filled her life with volunteer work for University Hospital, now called UF Health Jacksonville.
She also helped with the city’s Foster Grandparents Program.
Mrs. Evans says learning to love people wasn’t always easy.
“I worked with children, I worked with adults, and sometimes I had to cry,” she says quietly. “But I made the journey with the help of the Lord, and this is what’s so great for all that I’ve gone through. I’m still here, and I’m still learning. I want to continue to be loving, sharing, and caring.”
Ola Evans has been a member of St. Andrew Missionary Baptist Church for 49 years.
Her church family threw her a birthday bash a week ago at the Emanuel Missionary Baptist Church dining hall.
Mrs. Evans says she had a lot of fun and told me that most of her upbringing was centered around God.
“We had to go to Sunday school every Sunday morning,” she says, smiling as if she’s about to tell a joke.
“And if you pretend that you were sick and couldn’t go to Sunday school,” Evans explained.
She continued, “And when the children come back and start running around and playing, you want to go outside. No, you was too sick to go to church. You’re too sick to play. So I was taught to tell the truth,” she said while laughing infectiously.
After receiving a third hug before concluding the interview, Evans, who was extremely happy to welcome News4JAX into her home, imparted some words of wisdom to remind everyone to stay focused on what really matters in life.
“I thank God for the moment that he has let me see 100 years,” Mrs. Evans repeated. “And I’ve been asked many times, what was my secret: Love the Lord and love people.”