Evelyn Dawn Ward

On August 21, Evelyn Ward passed peacefully in her sleep. As she was at the very end of her 80s, we knew her time was coming, but we still experience grief at her passing. A person with as much presence as Evelyn leaves a profound space behind.

If one were to call Evelyn Ward a renaissance woman, one would have been met with a stern look bordering on a scowl. It’s equally likely that she would have smiled under her breath as she walked away from that conversation. A self-proclaimed desert rat who identified Santa Fe as her home, she grew up untethered and wild, charting her own course and making up her own mind. Evelyn, the daughter of Ellen Kondor Ward and Le Grande Ward, was an accomplished musician, playing with jazz bands at an early age and studying music in college. Her position as a part-time police dispatcher led to her service as one of the first two female police detectives in the entire country. Later, she joined the United States Postal Service as an inspector. Identified as a Santa Fe Living Treasure, Evelyn left indelible impressions as a business owner, and advocate for animals, and a coordinator of disaster response.

Evelyn was a supporter of the arts in ways that mattered, including opening a one of a kind independent artist’s gallery. She was an owner of Tribes Coffee House, a popular gathering and meeting place where local art is on display. Many of us were fortunate enough to have one of her baked goods pressed into our hands or left on our desk as she made the rounds checking in on her various projects.

As a fierce advocate for people and their pets, Evelyn researched and purchased all 75 acres of fencing for the Santa Fe Animal Shelter’s Animal Care Campus. That fencing is still as strong today as it was 30 years ago. If you enjoy the dog parks at the animal shelter, kindly remember Evelyn who made those safe and secure places possible. Evelyn conceptualized, developed, and operated the Food 4 Pets program at The Food Depot, which provides more than 1,600 people in rural communities with pet food for their dogs and cats. You may have seen Evelyn standing out in the field near Tribes nurturing a healthy colony of prairie dogs, just as she provided warm shelter to neighborhood cats…and a few raccoons. Her yard was a sanctuary for local creatures, with multiple fountains for birds. She loved her own furry companions Eber, Axel, and Rose, and reported on their antics to those closest to her with childlike joy.

Evelyn was dedicated to public safety and deeply committed to supporting a strong disaster response in northern New Mexico. She meaningfully shaped the response to the Cerro Grande and Los Conchas fires, coordinating animal evacuation and shelter efforts. She served as a member of Northern New Mexico’s Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster as a representative for the “animal world”. Significantly, she has been a guiding light in helping Santa Fe Amateur Radio Emergency Services establish relationships and connections that ensure that critical communication pathways remain open via ham radio in the event of an emergency.

Evelyn was a woman of tremendous vision, with a rough exterior that could be formidable, and she was always willing to roll up her sleeves and do the hard work to see a vision through to implementation. Evelyn also had an incredibly soft and generous heart. She was curious, and deeply invested in making the world a better place. She took good care of the people in her life, and often identified The Food Depot as her family. They felt the same about her.

Many of you may never have had the opportunity to meet Evelyn, but her fingerprints are everywhere in our community. We are changed for the better because of her. For those of you who did know Evelyn, we grieve with you. She taught us so much.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to The Food Depot's Food for Pets Program at www.thefooddepot.org or 1222 A Siler Road, Santa Fe, NM 87507.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Monday, September 29, 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM at The Food Depot, 1222 Siler Road in Santa Fe. Please join us to remember all that Evelyn has done and taught us and to honor the space she leaves behind.