A memorial service for Mrs. Evelyne Breland will be held at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, January 3, 2026 at Mt. Olive United Methodist Church in Ovett.  Bro. Charles Waddell will officiate the service.

Mildred Evelyne Breland was born Mildred Evelyne Shoemake in Waynesboro on January 18, 1935, to JH Shoemake and Mildred Stanley Shoemake. Her father was a barber and her mother a homemaker.  She passed away from this life on December 6, 2025, peacefully in her sleep.

In June 1955, she married the love of her life, Rudolph Breland. Together they had two sons, David Rudolph and Michael Edward Breland. Evelyne was a homemaker and artist who loved her family and pursued her passion.  After raising her children she continued to paint.

Evelyne was a quiet, soft-spoken lady, but a lady in all respects. She was a true southern belle in pants. She raised two well-mannered men who took care of their parents. She loved her grandchildren, Bonnie Marie and Kaeci Charlyss Spencer Breland. Her artistic traits have passed down to the next generation.

Evelyne's educational background is extensive and profound. She attended high school at what is now Jones College in Ellisville, Mississippi where she graduated in 1953. She majored in Art at the University of Southern Mississippi. Evelyne also continued her studies in art through workshops with well-known artists as a member of the Mississippi Art colony and became an active participant of the art colony for a number of years.

She was a member of the Mississippi Watercolor Society, the South Mississippi Art Association, and the Vicksburg Art Association. She also taught at the Institute of Learning in Retirement associated with the University of Southern Mississippi. Evelyne's passion was giving private art lessons to adults and children alike.

She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, David Rudolph and Nitra Nash Breland of Ovett; son, Michael Edward Breland of Ovett; granddaughters, Kaeci Charlyss Spencer Breland of Ovett and Bonnie Marie Breland of Talbott, TN; great grandson, Xane Alexander Sunderhuse of Talbott, TN; and sister, Ann Sparkman of Ovett.