Marion Monica Evans was born on July 20, 1887,[1] in Manorowen in the county of Pembrokeshire, Wales. She was the only daughter of the Rev. Joseph Evans, an Anglican clergyman, and Mary Roberts. Little is known about her early life, but she grew up with her family at the Rectory in Jordanston. It’s likely that she received a good education and possibly even attended a boarding school—her three brothers certainly did. One of her brothers grew up to be a banker and the other two to be Anglican clergymen like their father.

Monica never married and lived most of her life with her parents. Some time around 1924, she and her mother moved to Aberystwyth to be closer to her mother’s sister, Alice, and her children, so family was never in short supply.

In Aberystwyth, Monica was a member of Holy Trinity Church. In 1928, she and her mother even participated in a sale to raise funds to help pay off the church’s debts. At the event, they ran the “Fancy Stall.”[2] Interestingly, this isn’t the first time the Evans’ sold fancy goods to finance the Church. In 1889, her mother sold “fancy and ornamental goods,” including Worcester Royal China, to finance the building of railings, fences, a well, water tank, and plantings at the rectory where they lived.[3] Another charitable fundraiser that Monica and her mother were involved in was the 1936 General Hospital Centenary Appeal Fund where they donated £5 each to the cause.[4] Leading up to her death, Monica was dealing with depression and, just the day prior, she received news that her brother, the Rev. John Roberts Evans, had passed away. She died by suicide on January 8, 1948, at the age of 61 and, a few days later, was buried at Holy Trinity Church in Aberystwyth.[5]

Recovery

Recovery from suicidality is possible. Hope and active participation in the process are central to healing. The recovery process is further bolstered by the elimination of stigma and the participation of our loved ones and communities. This booklet explores the work of scholars and people with lived experience of suicide, addiction, and mental illness, to parse out what recovery can look like and some of the ways we get there.

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[1] 1939. England and Wales Register, 1939. Cardiganshire, Aberystwyth Mb, ZGBB. Digital Images. Ancestry. Entry for Mary Evans, (p. 3/44), entry 17-2.

[2] 1928. Anonymous, “Sale of Work,” Welsh Gazette, October 18, 1928, p. 8, col. 2. Digital Images. FindMyPast

[3] 1889. Mary Evans, “The Sale of Work,” Pembrokeshire Herald, July 5, 1889, p. 3. Digital Images. FindMyPast.

[4] 1936. Anonymous, “Aberystwyth and Cardiganshire General Hospital Centenary Appeal Fund,” Welsh Gazette, September 17, 1936, p. 2. Digital Images. FIndMyPast.

[5] Anonymous, “The Late Miss Monica Evans,” Welsh Gazette, January 15, 1948, p. 8. Digital Images. FindMyPast.