Evelyn C (Hats) Henderson

Evelyn C.  Gillis-Henderson was born April 2, 1932 in her beloved Augusta, Georgia to the parentage of Joseph and Beulah Gillis.

Evelyn accepted Christ at an early age and was baptized into the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Augusta by the late Rev. H.W. Phinizy.  She began singing at the age of seven.

Later she would go out on the gospel circuit, traveling through the South, on the East Coast and in the Midwest. Her unique voice and stage presence, compared to Mahalia Jackson, commanded your attention, which she in turn gave all the glory to the Lord and Savior she loved and served.  There was no mistaking whether she was present in the worship service.  Her “amen” and signature “yes!” reverberated throughout the little wooden church houses as well as the mega church sanctuaries.  Her days on the road ended when she married and moved to Texas.

After her arrival in Temple, she began a 30 plus year career at the Fort Hood Army Base in Killeen, Texas.  She worked in the Quartermaster Laundry.  It was not long before she progressed to a lead position and was moved to the front where she continued to spread God’s word in song right there in the laundry.  Any soldier that brought in laundry had to hear about Jesus.

During this same period, she joined the Macedonia Baptist Church under the pastorate of Rev. O.D. Davis and continued her faithful service under her beloved pastor, Rev. W. E. Robertson.  At Macedonia she served in many capacities over the years including President of the Mission, President of the Choir, Coordinator of Youth, Pastor’s Aid, and many other ministries.  She made it her business to be involved wherever she was needed, giving of all her resources time, talent, and treasure for over 55 years.

Evelyn was blessed to have her son, Steve, join her as she continued her journey to reach the masses for the Master.  As her ministry extended beyond the walls of her beloved church, Steve was there sharing the road and the ride that often found him asleep on the pew or sitting for hours after a program waiting on the Queen to finish holding court. She was the founder of the Temple Area Mass Choir, a member of the Women’s Auxiliary of the St. John Regular Baptist Association in Austin, and a faithful alto and featured song leader in the St. John Regular District Chorus.  Her commitment to community in and around Temple and Bell County was reflected in her membership with the Temple Branch of the NAACP, as organizer of benefit programs for needy persons and families and as a noted promoter of gospel programs throughout Central Texas.

Her musical gift and promotion skills allowed her to share the stage with many gospel music greats including the Mighty Clouds of Joy, Mahalia Jackson, Inez Andrews, Cleophus Robinson, Slim and the Supreme Angels, Dorothy Norwood, and Albertina Walker to name a few.

But her greatest desire was to help somebody as she passed this way and so she fulfilled her calling by sharing her song at the innumerable church events, and life celebration services.  Evelyn was called upon to minister her often requested songs such as “Lord Don’t Move the Mountain”, “Precious Lord”: “How Great Thou Art’ and ‘I Made It’.   Her personal favorites included “Through the Years (When the Gates Swing Open),” “The Lord Will Make A Way Somehow” and “I Am A Living Testimony.”

During her lifetime she has blessed to do two gospel recordings.  In the early years, she did an album with the South Union Church Choir from Marlin, Texas. And finally, at the prodding and insistence of her “son,” Chester D. T. Baldwin, she recorded a CD entitled “Through the Years” and released it at her 80thbirthday banquet celebration with over 400 persons in attendance.

Her love for a good ole church hat, a Baptist woman’s crowning glory, earned her the name Evelyn “Hats” Henderson.  She wore them like no other, the bigger the better, meticulously matching her dress or suit, and her shoes too.   Sometimes her own creation and design, her hats were unusual and odd in a whimsical way and she frequently would literally give the hat right off her head to someone who expressed their interest in it.  Her wardrobe consisted of over 200 hats.

Evelyn, the Georgia Peach as she referred to herself, was a friend to many and enjoyed the fellowship time she shared with all she came in contact.  She loved a good meal and good company.  Her hearty laugh and smile were contagious, and it endeared her to everyone, young and old. She easily found herself the center of all that was going on.  Because she was so good to others, you could not say no to her.  She had a way of volunteering you and then make you think it was your idea to participate in the first place.  Even as a resident of the Rehabilitation Retirement Center, she maintained her queenly role and continued her ministry outreach there.

We can still hear her voice loudly and boldly proclaiming...” when the gates swing open...I’ll walk on in!”and on Friday, February 12, 2021 those gates swung open and she walked on in.  Her parents and one sister, Margie McIntyre, preceded her in death.

Evelyn outran us to the Father’s kingdom and leaves to celebrate her life, the apple of her eye, her son, Steve Smith and her daughter-in-love, Constance Smith (Katy, Texas); her grandchildren, Caleb and Cana Smith, Ashton Minor, and Aloni Ransom all of Houston, Texas; her sisters, Dorothy Johnson (Dorchester, Massachusetts) and Earnestine Gibbs (Augusta, Georgia); special friends Ron Bullock (Dallas, Texas), Roger Evans, Joyce McBride, Vera Toliver, Debra Clinton and Evelyn Cockrell (all of Temple, Texas); her Macedonia Church Family, nieces, nephews and a host of other relatives and friends.