A strong woman will not let anyone get the best of her, but a woman of strength will give the best of herself to everyone.

These words epitomize the life of Mary Ellen Grayson Evans, who gave the best of herself to all her family and friends. Mary Ellen was the seventh child born to Fred and Mary Grayson of Parkdale, Arkan sas, on August 20, 1937. She was named after her mother, Mary Grayson and her maternal  grandmother, Ellen Johnson. Mary attended Union Baptist Church in Parkdale, Arkansas  where she confessed her life to Christ at a young age. She graduated with honors from Savage High School in Parkdale. Her fa vorite class was home economics where she learned to cook and  sew. At Savage, Mary was a star basketball player who was known  to sink a three-pointer from half court - a skill that she passed on  to her granddaughter, Jourdan. After high school graduation, Mary moved to Prichard, Alabama.  She later moved to Los Angeles, California. There she worked  in her Aunt Fannie's café, The Early Bird, where she honed her  culinary skills. While working at The Early Bird, Mary met the love of her life,  Henry Evans. They married June 16, 1976. To this union was  born a beautiful girl, Marsha. While living in Los Angeles, one of  Mary's favorite hobbies was shooting pool. She won many tournaments, receiving numerous awards and trophies. In the late 1970's Mary and her family moved to Dallas, Texas. She was gainfully employed by Sears Roebuck & Company, and she retired from Sears after working there for more than 30 years. Among the many precious memories, she enjoyed traveling on family vacations and weekend shopping with Marsha. Mary's hobbies included traveling to various casinos from Las Vegas to Greenville, playing cards and playing bingo. Most of all she enjoyed cooking unbelievably delicious large meals for family and friends. Her siblings would often say, "If you don't want all your food cooked in one meal, don't put Mary in your kitchen." She also enjoyed phone calls to catch up with family and find out "what's been going on with you." On Thursday, November 26, 2020, Mary went home to live with the Lord. She was preceded in death by her husband, Henry Evans; children: Patricia Mangal, Henry Evans, Jr. and Charles Evans; her parents Fred and Mary Grayson, sister: Juanita Mor ris; brothers: Edward Grayson, Frank Grayson, Willie Grayson, Thomas "TC" Grayson, and Kirt Grayson. Her life will be grate fully celebrated by her loving and devoted children: Marsha Evans, David Evans and Carolyn Dawson; sisters: Beulah Bled soe, Alsenaith (Leon) Rudolph and Barbara (Hardy) Williams and brother: John Grayson; granddaughters: Jourdan Davis and Kaleigh Banks; a host of favorite nieces and nephews, cousins, friends and a special neighbor Juanzelle and Joe Brantley.