Evelyn Birkett

Evelyn Birkett was born on November 23, 1934 in Cameron, South Carolina. She transitioned to be with her heavenly Father on April 6, 2021 at 1:00 a.m. in the Bronx, NY. Evelyn was the third of four children and the second daughter of Thomas and Virginia Glover. They moved their family from South Carolina as part of the Great Migration in the late 1930’s to West 118th Street in Harlem. She was educated in the New York City Public School System and after high school attended sewing trade school and nurse’s aide school. In 1951, Evelyn had a son, Dorain, who she raised with help from her family until she married Carl Birkett on October 23, 1954. That union was blessed with three additional children who were all raised in Harlem, Desariee, Carl, and Leslie. After the ending of the marriage, Evelyn used her nurse’s aide training and worked as a Nanny to support her children. She was always very dedicated to her children, making many sacrifices along the way to ensure their every need was met and more importantly that each one received their education from elementary school all the way to college. In addition to raising her own children, in the late 1980’s, Evelyn took on the added but very needed responsibility of raising her granddaughter, Special. She also helped in raising her great-grandson, Jayquan, the son of her eldest granddaughter, Nichole Birkett, who predeceased Evelyn. Evelyn took great pride in being very independent and having the ability to take care of herself and her children. She was focused on her children having more in life than she had. In addition to spending time with her family, Evelyn enjoyed traveling, going to the movies, visiting casinos and most of all going to church. Evelyn was a lifelong member of First Sharon Baptist Church and immensely enjoyed her service on the Usher Board. Evelyn Birkett is survived by: her children, Dorain Birkett, Desariee Birkett-Hopkins, Carl Birkett, and Leslie Birkett-Burch; her son-in-law, Kenneth Hopkins; her grandchildren, Talia Palmer (Damon Palmer), Ajani Birkett, Special Birkett, Jelani Birkett, Nala Polite-Ashura, and Najjah Nicholson; her great-grandchildren, Jayquan Birkett, Pamela Birkett, Kellen Palmer, Amina Birkett, Alani Birkett, Jelani Birkett, Jr, and Jace Birkett; great great grandchildren, Dana Birkett, Mecca Russ, Medina Russ, and Caprice Birkett; sister-in-law, Juliet Glover; nieces, Darlene, Diane, Hazel, Regina, Valerie, Gale, and Joyce; nephew, Rodney; cousins; and a host of family and friends who will also mourn her but cherish the many happy memories of her as a mother, grandmother, aunt, cousin, friend and neighbor. Lovingly submitted by The Family