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Dr. Lou Della Evans-Reid, the last living founder of Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church and a legendary figure in gospel music, has died. She was 94.
“When an elder dies, it’s as if a library has been burned to the ground,” said Pastor Reginald W. Sharpe Jr., reflecting on her passing.
“We are losing a church historian,” he said. “We’re losing a lady whose dedication helped build the family of Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church.”
Then he paused, reconsidered. “We haven’t lost her,” he added. “Because you don’t lose anything when you know where it is.”
For 75 years, “Mama Lou,” as she was known, was a steady and joyful presence at Fellowship, the South Side church she helped found alongside her older brother, Rev. Clay Evans, in 1950. She was only 20 then. By 1963, she had been named Minister of Music—an uncommon appointment for a woman in that era.
But it was her directing style that made history.
“She, along with the likes of Mattie Moss Clark from Detroit, revolutionized what it meant to be a choir master or a choir director,” said Rev. Sharpe.
“That wasn’t really how directors would lead the choir prior to Mama Lou,” he said, describing her energetic, demonstrative, Holy Ghost-filled style.
With her musical leadership and her brother’s preaching, the two formed an unmistakable synergy.
“They worked like hand in glove,” Rev. Sharpe said. “Reverend Evans used to say, preaching and singing go together.”
“It was her job to fuel the service and enliven the service with that powerful gospel singing, and then Reverend’s preaching and pastoring and civil rights activism kind of just took the church to another level.”
Her hymn arrangements—such as “It Is Well,” “More Love to Thee,” and “Close to Thee”—became sacred staples for generations.
Fellowship was the kind of place where Sunday worship filled the soul, and the rest of the week was for building a better world. “Sunday was for the soul, and the work of the church, Monday through Saturday, was for the body,” said Rev. Sharpe.
Even into her 90s, Dr. Evans-Reid was making calls—not for herself, but for others.
“She would call me and say, ‘Can you give such and such a call? One of our choir members is sick, and she would just love to hear from you.’”
That spirit of care never left her. She remained active in services until the very end.
In early May, during a Sunday service, Pastor Sharpe prepared to share that she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Before he could say a word, she interrupted from her seat.
“’Ain’t no secret. Tell ‘em. They need to know what to pray for,’” he recalled her saying.
And as he began to tell the congregation about her condition, she shouted, “That’s alright!”
“It was as if she said, ‘Nah uh, we’re not about to lose our faith, lose our hope and lose our trust in God just because of a diagnosis,’” said Rev. Sharpe.
“The doctors gave her days, but the Lord gave her two months,” he said.
“In the middle of devastating news, her faith caused her to yell out to the top of her lungs, ‘That’s alright!’ It centered me to be reminded of just how powerful our God is, even in the face of tragedy and unforeseen devastation.”
Born July 7, 1930, in Brownsville, Tennessee, to Henry Clay and Estanauly Evans, Dr. Evans-Reid remained committed to the traditions and power of gospel music. In addition to her four-decade tenure as Minister of Music, she founded the Lou Della Evans-Reid Traditional Gospel Choir. She was a central figure in the Gospel Music According to Chicago (GMAC) Mass Choir.
Her impact on Chicago, the gospel world, and her home church is immeasurable. But her words still echo for Rev. Sharpe—especially the verse she often quoted at funerals:
“I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day, because night comes when no man can work.”
In simpler terms: “Don’t waste time,” said Rev. Sharpe.
“Give it all you have while you have time because one day we won’t be able to do what we want to do.”
And that’s what she did—at Fellowship, in Chicago, and beyond.
“She was a friend, a true disciple of Jesus Christ, a beloved family member, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, auntie, choir director and the last founding member of Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church,” said Rev. Sharpe.
“All those categories still don’t capture the fullness and the essence of her life,” he added. “The landscape of all of our lives has changed by her passing.”
There will be a visitation on Friday, July 11, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Evans Funeral Home, 6451 S. Ashland Ave., Chicago, followed by a public viewing that same day from 4 to 7 p.m. at Fellowship Chicago, 4543 S. Princeton Ave., Chicago.
Her Wake will take place the following day, Saturday, July 12, from 8:45 to 9:45 a.m., followed by a Celebration of Life Service beginning at 10 a.m. Both will be held at Apostolic Faith Church, 3823 S. Indiana Ave., Chicago.
For updates and streaming information, visit www.fellowshipchicago.com.
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