Bernice Rider Evans, 90, teacher

Bernice Rider Evans, 90, a former teacher and counselor for the Philadelphia School District, died of complications from a stroke Thursday, Feb. 24, at Stapeley in Germantown, the retirement community.

Born near 53d Street and Haverford Avenue, Mrs. Evans graduated from West Philadelphia High School and earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education at what is now West Chester University in 1943.

She began her 35-year career as a kindergarten teacher and retired as a guidance counselor in 1983.

A daughter, Patricia Garrett, said Mrs. Evans taught at the former George L. Brooks School at 57th Street and Haverford Avenue in West Philadelphia for 18 years and at the Anna L. Lingelbach School on Wayne Avenue at Johnson Street in Germantown for five years.

After taking graduate courses at Temple University, Mrs. Evans was a counselor at the John G. Whittier School on 27th Street near Clearfield Street in North Philadelphia for 12 years.

"She took courses at the Abington Art Center when she was younger," her daughter said, and in retirement developed her watercolor skills at Center in the Park in Germantown.

In the 1990s, her work was exhibited at what is now the Moore College of Art and Design and at the October Gallery in West Mount Airy.

Her daughter said that a watercolor by Mrs. Evans won first place in a contest sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Aging in 1992.

Mrs. Evans sang in the choir at the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas and was a member of the Sisterhood Guild, the Karma Club, and the Smart Set, among others.

Besides her daughter Patricia, Mrs. Evans is survived by a daughter, Susan Waterford; three sisters; five grandchildren; and a great-grandson. Her husband, Robert, died in 2000.

A viewing was set from 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 2, at the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, 6361 Lancaster Ave., before an 11 a.m. requiem Mass there, with burial in Ivy Hill Cemetery.