Mary Arline Evans, respected Nashville family law attorney, passed away Saturday, May 13, 2023 following a brief illness.
Mary grew up in Chicago and graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in Theater. She moved to Nashville in the early 1970s and later attended the Nashville School of Law. She went to law school while working full time and raising her young children.
She practiced family law from 1986 to 2022 when she retired. She kept a quote on her refrigerator that read “Service is the rent you pay for your space on Earth.” She lived this both professionally and during her retirement.
In 1991 she was named the Nashville Bar Association Pro Bono Volunteer of the Year. She volunteered for the Tennessee Breast Cancer Coalition and was a member of the Board of Directors. She was also on the Nashville Bar Association Pro Bono Board of Directors. She played in and volunteered with The Vinny Golf Tournament, was on her HOA Board of Directors, and had recently begun volunteering at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
She was active in multiple professional organizations including the American Bar Association, the Nashville Bar Foundation, the Williamson County Bar Association, the Harry Phillips American Inn of Court, the American Trial Lawyers Association, and the Lawyers Association for Women.
She also enjoyed golfing, exercising, gardening, and singing in the Christ Church Cathedral choir, but her favorite activity was spending time with her grandchildren.
Mary was preceded in death by her parents Franklin and Barbara Evans, her siblings Amy Evans, Geoffrey Evans, and Christopher Evans, and her granddaughter Madeleine Scruggs.
She is survived by her sons Jesse Earl Scruggs and Jaime Evans Scruggs (Erika), and four grandchildren Alexander, Lillian, Camila, and Austin.
Services will be held at 11:00 am Saturday, May 20, 2023 at Christ Church Cathedral. Visitation will begin at 10:00 am. https://www.phillipsrobinson.com
For more obituaries visit https://davidsoncountysource.com/obituaries/
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