Evelyn Underwood-Miles

Bellevue’s Evelyn Underwood-Miles passed away at 94

Mary Evelyn O’Guin was born on May 28, 1927, in Erin, Tennessee. She grew up in Wavelry and played basketball for Waverly Central High School. Her hair was a beautiful color of red, handed down from her Irish ancestors and she loved to tell people that the basketball crowd would yell “Put Little Red in!” After graduation, she moved to Nashville with her sister and studied art at Watkins School of Art.

In 1948, she married Doug Underwood who was working at the Nashville Banner. Their daughter Sydney (Bennett Rogers Cowan) was born in 1951 and the three moved to Columbia, TN where Doug was the sports editor of the Daily Herald. While in Columbia, Evelyn started a blueprint business in the basement of their home and had their second daughter, Paula (Underwood Winters).

The family moved back to Nashville in 1958, where Evelyn managed two rental apartments in the house they bought.

Evelyn was a stay-at-home mom for a few years while her daughters were in school. They moved to Bellevue in 1963 and Evelyn went to work as the Art Director for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. The TWRA uses the logo she designed to this day.

Being the entrepreneur, Evelyn took notice that there were no girls day camps in the area and she thought a girls camp was needed in West Nashville, so she called Davis Gorham boys camp for advice on starting a camp.  In 1967 she started Camp Buffalo girl’s day camp on their farm on Buffalo Road. Daughters of Senator Douglas Henry, George Barrett and Jim Neal as well as many other girls ages 7-13 attended Camp Buffalo.

Evelyn help finance Doug’s entry into the newspaper publishing business in 1978 when they started the Westview Newspaper in Bellevue. After Doug’s passing in 1995, Evelyn took over the business end of the newspaper with their daughter Paula.

She sold the newspaper in 2010 to The Ledger and retired with her husband, Roy Miles Jr. whom she married in 2004.

Evelyn was also a top salesperson for AFLAC for many years, traveling all over the world as her reward for her outstanding sales work.

Evelyn was a member of the Bellevue Harpeth Historic Association, Bellevue Exchange Club, Bellevue Chamber of Commerce, and the Tennessee Art League.

Words people often use to describe Evelyn are “beautiful”, “sweetest person ever”, “elegant”,” lovely”, “talented”, “smart”.

Evelyn Underwood Miles, passed away at her home, Mt. Airy, in Bellevue, TN on Saturday, October 16, 2021. Her parents, Verna and Paul O’Guin preceded her, as well as her brothers and sister and grandson Ryan Winters. She is survived by her husband Roy Miles, Jr, her daughters, Sydney (Donald) Cowan, Paula (Donnie) Winters; grandchildren Alyson Bennett, Philip (Mandy) Bennett, Derek (DeRivanique, Niylah and Jade) Winters; great grandchildren Savannah and Juliette Arnold, Hayden Farr, Abby, Gunnar and Liam Bennett, and many loving nieces and nephews. She also had many grandchildren and great grandchildren through marriage.