Evelyn Marguerite Warlop Gyger

EVELYN MARGUERITE WARLOP GYGER. Evelyn was born in a tent near the Big Jim Mine near Oatman, Arizona, February 23, 1918, where her father, Jules Francois Warlop, was the General Foreman, and her mother, Mary Catherine Guillaume Warlop was a homemaker. She lived almost all of her life in the Verde Valley or within 50 miles of it. She passed away Friday, September 7, 2007. She would like to be remembered as the loving mother of 3 wonderful children and 7 wonderful grandchildren. After surviving a catastrophic accident in the Cleopatra Mine on Thanksgiving Day, 1928, Jules acquired the only remaining homestead in the Verde Valley near Cornville. He went on to farm during the depression and built a number of bridges, roads, and buildings including the existing Cottonwood Civic Building. Evelyn rode a burro to the one room schoolhouse in Cornville, eventually graduating from Jerome High School in 1935, and Saint Joseph's Business School in San Diego in 1937. She married Willy Glen Gyger in Prescott, Arizona, September 20, 1940. He was soon sent to what became the Manhattan Project in Alamagordo New Mexico. The family was there when the first two atomic bombs were detonated as a test. After WWII, the family farmed in Cornville. She managed the family business in Flagstaff and later worked as a bookkeeper at Arizona State College until she retired to Cottonwood in 1982. In 1996, she was widowed after nearly 55 years of marriage. She was active as a Brownie, Girl Scout Leader, and as a 4 H leader. She held all the offices of the Flagstaff Catholic Daughter's of America, and became the State Grand Regent. She was active in Senior Citizens activities. She was an officer of the Cottonwood Civic Club many times including serving as the president. She loved cooking, baking, and made an excellent fruit cake. She loved working in the garden and canned many of the vegetables she grew. She was gifted at sewing, embroidery and crochet. She read and wrote poetry, short stories and eventually the story of her life. She is survived by sons Gene Louis Gyger of Camp Verde and Allen Frank Gyger of Las Vegas, Nevada. Her daughter, Louis Marie Gyger-Jones is a clothing designer in Pahoa, Hawaii. A Visitation will be held on Friday, September 14, 2007 from 5:00-7:00pm at Westcott Funeral Home. The Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, September 15, 2007 at 10:30am at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Cottonwood. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to a worthy charity. An online guestbook is available at www.westcottfuneralhome.com