Watauga County Board of Commissioners Receive Request to Rename Library in Memory of Evelyn Johnson

By Jesse Wood

Feb. 1, 2013. At next Tuesday’s Watauga County Board of Commissioners meeting, the board will address a request to rename the Watauga County Public Library to the Evelyn Shook Johnson Memorial Library.

Evelyn Johnson stands in front of the Watauga County Public Library, where she worked for more than 36 years. Her favorite color was purple.

Shook worked at the library for 36 years, and recently passed away suddenly after a heart attack. What began as a two-month summer internship years ago turned into a career. She came to be a beloved figure in the High Country.

Historically, the county has not named facilities after individuals and, thus, doesn’t have an official naming policy, according to the board packet: “Currently the only County facility named after an individual is the Lois E. Harrill Senior Center. Lois E. Harrill was the first Project on Aging Director who was killed in an automobile accident.”

Peggy Hartley, who is involved with the library, is speaking before the board, which may request her to provide a letter from the board of directors with the Watauga County Public Library in support of renaming the library.

Another potential action from the request might be that the board will direct County Manager Deron Geouque to develop an official naming policy for county facilities.

Here is an article in memory of Johnson with quotes from her two sons: https://www.hcpress.com/news/the-watauga-library-and-community-will-never-feel-the-same-evelyn-johnson-passes-away-monday-afternoon.html