John Darlington Evelyn was born on July 1, 1950 in the parish of St. Michael, Barbados, West Indies, to Charles and Agnes Evelyn. John attended St. Giles Boys' School before coming to America. He is one of 10, made of 7 brothers and 3 sisters. His family emigrated to the United States when he was 14 and resided in Brooklyn, New York. Upon graduation from high school he enlisted into the US Marine Corp serving until he was honorably discharged due to illness.
He immediately enrolled in New York City Technical College where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. During that time he was a NYC cab driver and a DJ saving his money to buy his first Datsun Z. During his time at college he met his wife Genevieve, whom he wed on June 10, 1978.
Following graduation from college he took a number of odd jobs to make ends meet until he found his professional opportunity with the US Postal Service. John was a consummate professional in that during his 27 years with the USPS, he began as a ZMT operator and progressively rose through the ranks to become a Supervisor before taking his highest rank as Postmaster. During his career, he served at facilities such as Queens Village Post Office, Hempstead Post Office, Wyandanch Post Office and other Postal Facilities.
As a Postmaster, John demonstrated outstanding leadership as he excelled in the management of his office and management of his personnel. Over the years he received a number of Special Achievement Awards for notable performance and other Postal recognition categories.
His leadership skills extended into the Combined Federal Campaign which is the official workplace giving campaign of the Federal Government that includes the US Postal Service. He led fundraising efforts for many years and always exceeded set goals.
He LOVED sports and avidly followed Baseball, Football, Basketball, Cricket and Soccer. He admired many professional baseball managers especially those associated with the New York Yankees; two of his favorites were Tommy Lasorda and Joe Torre. His love of baseball led him to accept a unique opportunity to manage and play for the Jamaica Jays softball team. He eventually led that team to win the Flushing Post Office league championship in 1983. He brought his family to almost all of the Sunday games. A bucket list item for him was the opportunity to attended the Summer Olympics of 1984 which was held in Los Angeles.
Coming from a family of 10, John was a family man who took great pride in managing his home and raising his two sons, John Oliver and Noel. Over the years, he saw the value of home ownership and purchased his first home in the town of Hempstead, and then moved on to Westbury, NY where he eventually retired at age 55. John also reconnected with his daughter Renee and their daughter/dad bond grew into a solid loving relationship. He truly had become her best friend. He is now the proud grandpa of Raymond Isaiah, age 4.
In 2003, John and his family experienced the sudden death of his first son John Oliver. The trauma of that loss led him to relocate his family to Miami, Florida where he resided until his passing.
In his new life as a retiree with time on his hands, he eased into a much slower pace of living spending much time enjoying the warm weather, taking care of his new home, cooking, keeping up with sports, politics, the post office and watching movies. Over the 11 years in Miami, he traveled extensively, especially to his homeland of Barbados which became an annual trip. John remained close with ALL of his brothers and sisters and was in the process of assisting and directing travel plans for his family reunion in Barbados which is scheduled to take place in early August of this year.
Although his health was on the decline due to Diabetes, GERD and Diverticulitis, the sudden news of his passing was shocking for everyone. In his final few weeks he had a resurgence of energy, and excitement for life as he packed to travel to Barbados. On June 10, 2017 he celebrated 39 years of marriage, and his son Noel’s 33rd birthday. He was also looking forward to celebrating his 67th birthday TODAY, July 1, 2017. On the evening of June 21st, while sitting in his favorite
chair, he passed away peacefully.
John is predeceased by his parents Charles and Agnes, his brother Charles "Junior", and son John Oliver.
He is survived by his wife Genevieve, his daughter Renee and Grandson, Raymond, his son Noel, his sisters Rosemary Cruz, Margaret Pinsker, Jacqueline Padgett, his brothers, Charles of Barbados, Leo Ricardo, Erwin, Barrymore, Robert and a host of nieces, nephews and friends. He will also be missed terribly by the family dog Keizer.
“In marriage we give ourselves completely without calculation or reserve, sharing everything, gifts and hardship, trusting in God’s providence." John Evelyn, my husband, we had a pretty good life together, thank you for stepping up to the plate, for your generosity, and for taking care of me, our home, our family. I love you.
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