Copyright The Philadelphia Inquirer
Evanda Gale Jefferson, 77, of Secane, Delaware County, an environmental chemistry pioneer, the first Black senior chemist at Gulf Oil Corp. in Philadelphia, Baptist missionary, mentor, and volunteer, died Tuesday, Oct. 14, of cancer at the home of her caregiver in Philadelphia. Born and reared by her grandmother in Lynchburg, Va., Ms. Jefferson found work as a research chemist at Gulf Oil in Philadelphia, moved to Secane in the early 1970s, and spent 20 years analyzing oil products, developing training programs for advanced environmental research, and traveling the country on behalf of Gulf. She was an expert in analytical and environmental chemistry, and she rose to supervisor of the environmental and chemical unit in 1981, and then senior chemist. She was organized and engaging, her family said, and she represented Gulf in magazine ads and at industry conferences and meetings. In a 1981 magazine ad, she was quoted as saying: “It takes a lot of water to refine crude oil. … I’m part of a team that makes sure that after we use the water, it gets pumped back into our rivers and lakes even cleaner than when we took it out.” She also served as a local and regional leader for the Association of Desk and Derrick Clubs of North America, an industry group for women in oil and gas. She spoke often at Desk and Derrick meetings, and at churches and colleges about the oil industry, the environment, Black history, and other issues. She retired from Gulf in the early 1990s. In 1970, Ms. Jefferson earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Randolph-Macon Women’s College in Lynchburg, known now as Randolph College. She worked as a chemistry lab assistant at the school’s annual Summer Science Institute in the late 1960s and helped integrate the student body in 1966. “I wanted to be part of an integrated situation, and Randolph-Macon was one of the top 10 women colleges in the country,” she told the school newspaper in 2019. “The teachers were good at their job, and all my wants were met.” She was appointed a trustee at Randolph-Macon in 1984 and told the student newspaper that she measured success by “having an exchange program, good teachers, and always moving forward.” She said the college sought “any student who really wants the best education in the country. The friendships made, and the teachers there, are something that will stay with you forever.” Ms. Jefferson was active at Eighth Street Baptist Church in Lynchburg when she was young and continued her church and missionary work after she retired from Gulf. She attended Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Philadelphia, sang in the church choir, and spoke to congregants in Indiana, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere about spiritual awakening, enlightenment, and empowerment as a member of the National Missionary Baptist Convention. She traveled to Ghana several times on religious and social welfare missions. “She was a big student of God,” her nephew Temple said. “She said that not everybody had the opportunities to have what she had.” Earlier, she was director of Vacation Bible School at Eighth Street Church and a committee chair for the Church Women United of Lynchburg. “She was big on people and had a broad mindset,” her nephew said. Evanda Gale Jefferson was born April 13, 1948. Her parents died when she was young, and she grew up with her brother, Temple, who lovingly teased her by calling her a “goody two-shoes.” She was a standout student at Dunbar High School, making the honor roll regularly, singing in the school chorus, playing cornet in the school band, and serving as assistant editor on the school newspaper. She graduated in 1966 and was named “most individualistic” by her classmates. She also sang for the glee club at Randolph-Macon, earned the school’s Alumni Achievement Award, and was honored for donating a legacy gift. After college, she took graduate classes at Butler University in Indiana and St. Joseph’s University, and supported the Museum of African American History in Lynchburg. In online tributes, friends noted her “beautiful smile and laugh” and called her “so smart and confident.” A fellow Mt. Carmel choir member said: “I loved Evanda’s broad smile and authenticity. She was beautiful inside and out, and had such an optimistic perspective on life, which was so inspiring.” In addition to her brother and nephew, Ms. Jefferson is survived by other relatives. Services were held on Oct. 27 and 30.
