Evelyn Margaret Robinson Jones
February 15, 1930 - November, 14 2021
Evelyn Margaret Robinson Jones, M.D., age 91, of Denver, CO passed away at home Sunday, November 14, 2021. She was born February 15, 1930 in Winnsboro, La, the daughter of the Reverend Doctor Charley Boyce Robinson and Mary Hines Watkins Robinson.
Evelyn graduated from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville in 1951 and the University of Arkansas School for Medical Sciences at Little Rock in 1955. She was one of six women in her class. She completed a general practice residency and had a career spanning 26 years with the Veteran’s Administration (VA) Hospitals in Fayetteville and Little Rock, Arkansas. She was the first female doctor at the Fayetteville VA, but recruited two others during her tenure. She cared for the Fayetteville VA’s first AIDS patients at a time when her colleagues refused to provide treatment because of the stigma of AIDS and the uncertainty at the time of how AIDS was contracted. In 1984 she was nominated by her patients and received the Hands & Heart Award which recognizes VA employees whose dedication to Veterans is marked by the highest standards in patient care. She retired on August 17, 1993. Evelyn was an ordained elder of the Presbyterian Church, a Sunday school teacher and an Altrusan.
Evelyn was proudest of her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, of being a good doctor, of being an Elder in the Presbyterian Church and of being a person who always believed in equality for all, regardless of race, gender or orientation.
She is survived by her children Karen Beatty and husband Jim Beatty, Mark Jones and wife Cathy Jones and Matthew Jones and husband Wesley English, by her grandchildren Jessica Gauvin, Kathryn Hedden, Elizabeth Ryner, Amanda Jones, Tyler Jones, Olivia Strange and Nick Jones, and by her great grandchildren Emily Hedden, Henry Hedden and Stella Gauvin. She is also survived by her sisters Janie Besharse and Elizabeth Anne Robinson.
She is preceded in death by her parents Charley and Mary Robinson, her brother Charley Robinson, Jr. and her sister Mary Shell.
A celebration of her life will be held in the spring of 2022. Evelyn loved her canine companions and memorials in her memory can be made to your local animal shelter or rescue organization.