Evelyn Strader
Evelyn Strader moved to
Brooks-Howell Home from Eden, NC. She was born into a Methodist
parsonage family along with two sisters and spent her growing-up
years and retirement in the Eden are of Western North Carolina.
After graduating from Linksville High School, she entered Asbury
College and graduated with a BA degree. She worked for one year
in the Draper elementary school, and for 1 1/2 years as director
of youth work at McKendree Methodist Church in Washington, DC.
Since the call to mission work that she felt in college followed her, she left her work and went to Scarritt College. She graduated in 1948 with an MA in Christian Education. She also attended the Biblical Seminary in New York and Hartford Seminary in Connecticut.
In 1949, she arrived in India and served as a teacher in the Methodist High School, Kanpur, where Irene Wells was the Principal. After 2 years she was appointed Principal of the co-educational school and continued in that position until her retirement in 1983. Under her leadership the school grew from 200 students to 1000. In her living room she has hanging, the framed farewell address given to her by the students of the school. It outlines the physical, social and spiritual growth of the school under her dynamic and farsighted leadership.
Evelyn retired in 1983 to take care of her parents in Eden, NC, which she did for about 9 years. She was active in her church there, First United Methodist, and continuously taught the "Home Builders Class" from 1983-98. In the community, she was president of Draper Women's Club from 1983-1997. Evelyn moved to Brooks-Howell in October, 1998.