Evelyn Jean Painter

Evelyn Jean Painter’s story began on February 7, 1929 when she was born in Roxana, Illinois, to Don and Dorothy Caldwell. A voracious reader from an early age, her favorite memories were of the Bookmobile coming to the town of Thebes where she grew up. The plot of her life took an unexpected twist after WWII when her family moved to Richland, Washington, when Don went to work at Hanford. She graduated from Columbia High in 1947 and soon after met and married Bill Painter, a handsome, strong Army veteran who was beginning his career out on the Project.

Further complications in her story came with the introduction of four new characters, her children Mark, Vicki, David, and Nancy. Their antics dominated the plot until Nancy was safely in school, whereupon Evelyn went back to school herself, first at CBC and then EWU where she graduated at the top of her class in Education and German. 

For many years Evelyn taught sixth grade at Marcus Whitman in Richland. Retirement was not a conclusion; she and Bill traveled to China to teach English at a college in Sichuan Province. The next chapters followed Bill and Evelyn around the globe, twice. Returning to Richland they sponsored one of their Chinese students, Sunny Gao, who came to America, lived with them, and became like a third daughter.

Under the influence of her husband and active children and grandchildren, Evelyn became an athlete, running, riding her bike, and hiking. In her 70s, 80s and even 90s she raced the Badger Mountain Challenge and the Chinook Cycling time trials and became a fixture on the Friends of Badger Mountain trails. When she didn’t compete, she volunteered.

Through all this, Evelyn never lost her passion for reading. She often finished a book a day and worked in the Friends of the Richland Library store and joined several book clubs.

As she moved into her 90s, this whirlwind of a life slowed, but she always kept cookies in the jar for her kids and the neighbors. After Bill’s death in 2016, she continued to live in the home they built on Cottonwood, visited by her friends and family, playing Bridge and going out to lunch with the girlfriends.

Evelyn Painter grew up during the Great Depression and World War II, a part of the Greatest Generation. The themes of her life were activity, self-sufficiency, modesty, achievement and care for others.

The climax of Evelyn’s story came on August 7, 2026 in her home of 70-plus years, spending her last days in the care of her granddaughters Molly Painter and Andrea Burkhart. She requested that there be no formal denouement, simply a family gathering to celebrate the 97½-year epic of her life. 

She touched many lives and will be remembered and missed.