Evelyn Davis Lake, a USMC Veteran, Wife, Mother, Grandmother, and friend, died at the age of eighty-three in Milton, GA.
With great sadness, the family of Evelyn “Jody” Davis Lake announces her passing after an illness on April 6, 2021.
Jody was born in Estillfork, AL on December 2, 1937. But she was a true Tennessee girl at heart, raised in Cowan, TN for most of her childhood. Jody started working at the age of nine at Cowan Cafe to help her family. She also earned enough to treat herself to the occasional movie and a coke: her favorite. Jody was very active in school and played basketball for the Franklin County Rebels Girls’ Basketball team as a forward. Evelyn, lovingly referred to as “Jody” by her family and friends, gained the nickname from high school friends referencing the Steven Foster song “Jeanie With the Light Brown Hair”.
After graduation, she left home and moved to Chicago to work as a secretary. She could type over one hundred and twenty words per minute with perfect accuracy. After a year and a half, she joined the Marine Corps at the age of nineteen. She was part of the secretarial pool and moved up quickly to become the assistant to the Colonel. She was a beauty and was encouraged by her office to enter the Miss Cherry Blossom Pageant. Reluctantly, she entered. She won the coveted title of Miss Cherry Blossom in Arlington, VA, where she was stationed.
After achieving her Private First-Class position, she met James Lake at the Enlisted Club at the age of twenty. She said it was love at first sight. Jody, being an accomplished dancer, asked Jim to dance with her. They were engaged six weeks later and married three months later on August 11, 1957. Their marriage lasted for sixty-three years until Jim’s passing last September.
Jody was not the woman behind the man. She was the woman beside the man. She supported her husband’s career in the Marine Corps from Sargent to Major and their post-Marine life. Their family moved almost yearly from several states and even countries. But Jody made sure the home was always in order by the time the kids came home from their first day of school. Her favorite was living in Okinawa, Japan. She loved the culture and how courteous the people were during Jim’s deployment.
Jody loved to throw a party. She was a fantastic cook and entertainer. She had a knack for interior design, knowing how to make a house feel like a home. In Tennessee, she opened her own small business called Country Curtains, where she designed and sewed custom home accessories. She also loved dancing, gardening, sewing, painting, crochet, and needlework.
Her favorite movie was On the Waterfront with her favorite actor John Gavin. Her favorite music was by Elvis Presley and Johnny Mathis. “Only You” by The Platters was Jody and Jim’s love song. Jody loved to travel and shop. She was an expert at both.
Jody was undeterred by most things. If she didn’t know something, she would go to the library, order a book, and learn how to take care of whatever it was. From taking apart a car motor to home construction, she was an avid learner and used her long list of skills to help herself and the people in her life. Her knowledge base was endless.
Jody cherished acting as a confidant and advisor when someone was in need. She was always there with an open ear and heart, offering advice for any issue, especially for her family. She felt most at home when she could lend a helping hand.
Jody is survived by her son; Keven Michael Lake, her daughter; Kelly Anne Wilson and her husband Charles, her grandchildren; Michael Charles Wilson, Loren Michelle Wilson, Maria Luisa Monteiro Oliveira, Matheus Monteiro Lake, and James Kenneth Lake, her brother; Judge Floyd Don Davis and sister-in-law Joanne Peters Davis, her brother-in-law; Kenneth Stewart Lake and sister-in-law, Angelina Mary Lake, and nieces and nephews; Jeff Scott Davis, Cathy Cason Davis, Cindy Lynn Davis, Steve Rollason, Andy Peters Davis, Jessica Fell Davis, Robert Floyd Davis, and Allison Hale Davis. Her extended family in Tennessee and California loved her deeply.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Major James E. Lake. Their dear daughter, Linda Jo Lake. Her father, Gentry Davis, mother, Cynthia Davis, and her brother, Jim Davis.
Jody loved her husband, children, grandchildren, siblings, extended family, and friends dearly.
Graveside services for family members will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, April 17, 2021 at Cowan Montgomery Cemetery.
Moore-Cortner Funeral Home, 300 First Ave NW, Winchester, TN 37398, (931)-967-2222
