Rhonda graduated Weir High School as an outstanding player on the basketball team and her love of the game never ceased. She furthered her education, graduating with a degree in history from Mississippi State University. On 1 November 2003, she married Thomas Jefferson Evans, III (T.J.) at The Arbor of South Union Methodist Church in Ackerman, Mississippi. They have made their home on South Union Road ever since.
She was predeceased by her dear mother, Margaret Smith Broughton, and her father-in-law, Thomas Dwyte Evans (her "Pop").
She is survived by her husband, T.J. Evans, her sister, Amanda June Manning (Jeremy), her brother, Pastor Scott Broughton (Amanda Lynn), niece Mary Kathryn Broughton, nephew Emerson Keeton Broughton, her mother-in-law, Sandra Land Evans, and her brother-in-law, Sandy Kenneth Evans (Rachel), and her dog Ruby.
Rhonda was very active in the New Zion Baptist Church in Ackerman where her brother was the pastor for several years. Among her activities, she led Bible study. A dear friend said it best: "The first Bible study she picked and led was about family. That's no coincidence, she loved all her family A LOT! She loved her husband T.J. and his family as much as her own. She loved us all (her family and friends) and cared for us the way every Southern woman knows best (and that's by feeding us)." She made delicious meals and desserts, especially cheesecake. To that end, most recently, she managed the Ackerman Elementary School cafeteria.
Rhonda followed Mississippi State football and basketball. She enjoyed tailgating as part of the "Lodi Dawgs" and you could often see her with at least one of her beloved nieces at a State basketball game. Rhonda was very supportive of T.J. with his career and continuing education. With her usual dry wit, she said she wanted her half of his diploma!
Rhonda had been a longtime supporter of the Blair Batson Children's Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi. Her family requests, in lieu of flowers, that any memorial donations should be directed to Blair Batson Children's Hospital.
A celebration of life service will be on Friday, 15 July 2022, at the Choctaw County Community Center in Ackerman at 3:00 p.m. Visitation will begin at noon at the community center. Pallbearers are David Smith, Brady Smith, Martin Smith, Robert Liddell, James Marvin Liddell, and Jeremy Manning. There are a host of honorary pallbearers too numerous to mention.
Blair Batson Children's Hospital
UMMC Office of Development
2500 State Street
Jackson, MS 39126
website: https://umc.edu/office_of_development/Give_Now.html