Evelyn C. Zenter

Evelyn Crawford Zenter was born on March 1st, 1929, in Blackjack, TX, to J.C. and Merle Power Crawford. Here, her grandparents, Valley Power and Frank Power, known to those he loved as “Daddy Powers”, raised her on dirt floors, hard work, and love. It did not take long for the powerful beauty and immense talents she would grow into to become evident. Anyone blessed to know Evelyn would say that she sang like a bird, and she refined those talents at Centenary College, after graduating from Fair Park High School. When she wasn’t filling eyes with tears with that voice, she was teaching the Word to her Sunday School students, acting in the Shreveport Theater, or competing on the softball diamond, a place she loved and shined until she was 48 years of age.

Her equally beautiful and talented daughter, Kimberly Ann, would tell you that she could be “tough as hell and soft as velvet”, much like that very daughter. That she loved her grandchildren with a mighty love, something this author was blessed to live firsthand. That she had an uplifting laugh and a fantastic sense of humor. And that there was no one like her.

The great man who knew he would marry her at first sight was John Earl Chandler, to whom she was married at the age of 17, and with whom she had her children, Kimberly Ann Fayard and John Earl Jr. Evelyn married her second husband, John C. Zenter in 1977 and was by his side for 42 years until his passing in May of 2020. She is survived by her children and her grandchildren, Rob Fayard Jr., Adam Williams, Luke Fayard, John Gilbert Chandler, John Chandler III, John Dunford, and William Dunford, as well as her great grandchildren, Bailey, Caleb, Lyla, Miles, and Adelyn. She was preceded in death by John Chandler and her second husband, John Zenter, as well as her brother, Roy.

“To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” (2 Cor 5) And Evelyn was called home the morning of November 10th, 2024, and leaves behind a legacy of love and laughter. For those lucky enough, she also left the blessing of pride in calling her family. She never knew the depths of her beauty. But, the world did. She never knew the joy she brought her grandchildren, or the effect she had on their lives. But, they will never forget it, as it was woven into who they are. To Evelyn, in the words she and Kimberly lovingly passed between each other throughout their relationship, from all those that will forever love her, “Sugar lump, I love ya’.”