Evelyn Bernice Cartwright Gunn was born in Norfolk, VA on April 25, 1925.  She received her wings and entered Heaven’s gates on June 28, 2017 at her home in Cavalier Manor after a brief illness.  She was the daughter of the late James Cartwright and Lillie Perkins and was united in marriage to Louis Gunn on April 9, 1944.  He preceded her in death on June 1, 2011 and they were married for 67 years.

She attended evening sewing classes at Booker T. Washington High School and loved sewing.  Her most notable job was one of the women known as “Rosie the Riveters” – the nickname given women who entered the workforce after men departed to fight in World War II.  Evelyn was one of the women hired as a welder at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and helped build and commission the USS Shangri-La, USS Lake Champlain and the USS Tarawa.

Shortly after the job at the shipyard she became a homemaker for her four sons where she was an excellent cook and loved preparing meals for her family and friends.  She had an unwavering faith in God and gave countless hours of volunteering at Community Presbyterian Church under the leadership of Reverend Thomas B. Hargrave.  She enjoyed playing the piano and passed her musical talents on to her children.  For a very short while, she was a school bus driver for Portsmouth Public Schools.

She is survived by her sons, Elge (Diane) and Lewis (Monica); daughter-in-law Mona T. Gunn; nine loving grandchildren Tanya, Keith, Anton, Steven, Jamal, Jason, Shavon, Jaime and Arielle; nine great-grandchildren, other relatives and a special god-daughter, Lorri Richardson.

In addition to being predeceased by her husband, she was also predeceased by sons Clarence Cartwright, Louge Gunn and a grandson SMSN Cherone Louis Gunn killed onboard the terrorist attack on the USS Cole.

Visitation with the family will be on Sunday, July 2, 2017 2:00 – 5:00 at Corprew Funeral Home and a graveside service will take place at 12:30 p.m. Monday, July 3, 2017 at Woodlawn Memorial Gardens in Norfolk, VA.