Connie Odessa Evans

Connie Odessa Evans was born to Violet (Brooks) and Elmer Evans on June 18, 1946 in Des Moines. She passed away on June 15, 2018 in Killeen, Texas.

Visitation will be from 12 to 2 p.m., followed by services at 2 p.m. on Friday, June 29 at ay) at Christ Apostolic Temple, 1230 E. 17th Street, with burial in Glendale Cemetery. Hendersons Highland Park Funeral Home is handling service arrangements.

Connie graduated from North High School and earned her B.A. and Masters in Public Administration from Drake University.

She worked in the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson in Washington, D.C. and also worked for the City of Des Moines, the Central Iowa Regional Association, IBM, and was the owner/CEO of the Evans Development Corporation. She retired from Sears.

Faith and family were the cornerstones of Connies life. She accepted Christ at an early age and was baptized in the former Shiloh Baptist Church.

She loved sports, good food and good music, and enjoyed going to the Green Jeans/Kirkwood jazz festivals in Des Moines. Connie was an avid reader and she loved travel and a good adventure!

Connie also had a love of young people, whom she taught and mentored and gave advice to, assuming the role of social worker for many young people, many of whom she encountered through her work in the Harding Success Program.

She also was passionate about social justice. She was very active in the Democratic Party in Iowa, served as chair of the Election Board, chair of the African American Caucus of the Iowa Democratic Party and coordinator of voter empowerment efforts and was a delegate to numerous county and state conventions. She was a member of the Des Moines Black Catholics and the NAACP and was recognized in the Whos Who of American Women.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Violet (Brooks) and Elmer Evans and siblings, Lillian Jones, Ernest Cumbess and Don Cumbess. She is survived by her daughter, Nia Malika Gosch of Killeen, Texas, sisters Lana Williams of St. Louis, Mo., Brenda Shuler of Elgin, Texas, Ermayne Hunter of Killeen, Texas, brothers Phillip Dudley (Annette) of Denver, Colorado, and Kelly Evans (Roxanne) of Austin, Texas, and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. Visitation









Friday, June 29, 2018

12:00 - 2:00pm









Mt. Hebron Missionary Baptist Church

Celebration of Life









Friday, June 29, 2018

Starts at 2:00pm









Christ Apostolic Temple