On March 2, 2023, EVEDNA KATHRYN SAVARY DURAN,
84, was reunited with her husband of 56 years, Jerry Duran, in heaven. Evedna was born on November 21, 1938 in Little Rock. She attended elementary and middle school at St. Edward and St. Andrew Catholic Schools. After her parents moved to El Dorado, she boarded at Mount Saint Mary Academy for a year, and then transferred to El Dorado High School, where she graduated in 1956. She went on to graduate from Henderson State Teachers College, now Henderson State University.
Evedna was beloved by the Savary, Grimaldi, Duran, and Lewis families and many friends. She could be counted on to light up a room with her smile and distinctive laugh. As a child, her father called her “Toots,” which was short for Tootsie Roll. Her brother Dick pronounced it “Tuts,” and a lifelong nickname was born.
Over the years, Evedna and Jerry hosted many gatherings of friends and family at their home. Food and storytelling were plentiful, and sometimes their children, nieces, and nephews could be counted on to provide entertainment. Family traditions were important, and Evedna kept them going every year - turkey for Thanksgiving and ham for Christmas, fudge and potato casserole, and birthdays at Red Lobster.
Evedna’s children and grandchildren were the most important people in her life. Her grandchildren, Lauren, Lindsey, Matthew, and Noah, loved having sleepovers with their Nanny and Papa, who kept their favorite snacks on hand and engaged them in card games, digging in the dirt, and other fun. Lauren, Lindsey, and Matthew were all lucky to have their Nanny take care of them in their first years of life.
Evedna was an excellent writer and editor, spending the early years of her career at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Industrial Research and Extension Center, where she met her husband and many lifelong friends. Later, she worked at the Office of Communications at UALR.
Waiting in heaven to celebrate with her are her husband, Jerry Wayne Duran; her parents, Evedna Hegberg Savary and Thomas Mooney Savary; her brothers, Thomas Jack Savary and James Richard Savary; sister-in-law, Mary Ann Savary; brothers-inlaw, Frank Grimaldi and Richard Duran; niece, Mary Maura Grimaldi; and nephew, David Savary.
Continuing to honor her legacy on earth are her daughter and son, Angela Duran and Alex Duran; their spouses, Lill Lewis and Heather Duran; grandchildren, Lauren Duran, Lindsey Duran, Matthew Lewis, and Noah Lewis; sister, Mary Jane Grimaldi; and many other sisters-inlaw, brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews and their spouses, and grand-nieces and nephews and their spouses and children.
A visitation will be held at 6 p.m., followed by a rosary at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 9, at Griffin Leggett Funeral Home, 5800 W. 12th Street in Little Rock. The funeral mass will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 10, at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church, 1321 S. Van Buren in Little Rock. Evedna was a parishioner at Good Counsel for over 50 years.
The Sisters of Mercy played a key role in the education of Evedna’s children and grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to support the needs of retired Sisters of Mercy. Sisters of Mercy, c/o Sister Richard M. Burke, 2039 N. Geyer Road, St Louis, Mo., 63131.