Evelyn Field had the library at RVCC named in her honor and marched in the civil rights movement of the 1960s.
SOMERVILLE -- Educator and civil rights activist Evelyn S. Field was remembered Friday morning as a champion for education and justice, a community servant, a fighter and a loving matriarch.
Evelyn S. Field (Courtesy Raritan Valley Community College)"My mother was also tight with her money," said her son Glenn W. Field. "She could stretch a dollar until the president on the bill would scream."
Field, who died on Dec. 3 at the Center for Hope Hospice, was recalled in a funeral service at the First Baptist Church as a tireless worker who lived her life to help others.
"I knew Evelyn for 83 years and 10 weeks," said former state Sen. Ray Bateman. "I know the exact time because we arrived in kindergarten in Somerville the day after Labor Day at the same time.
"For the next 13 years, we shared teachers, homerooms and activities. She graduated No. 1 in our senior class. She would tell me I was wrong and always did it straight up without seeking publicity. She was on very special, hard-working woman. I was proud to be her friend."
Field, who was a teacher and educational media specialist for three decades in he Somerville school system, broke through many barriers in her life.
She was one of the first two African-American women to live in the dormitories at Rutgers' Douglass College and one of the first board members of Somerset County College -- now Raritan Valley Community College -- where the Evelyn S. Field library was named in her honor on the college's 25th anniversary in 1993.
Field, who earned master's degrees in education and library from Rutgers, marched, protested and raised funds during the Civil Rights movement as a member of the Somerville Negro Civic Council among other organizations. She spent five decades working with various women's groups, including the Girl Scouts.
Jerome C. Harris, an official with the New Jersey Black Issues Convention, called Field a "servant" in the mold of Rosa Parks and Shirley Chisholm.
"You didn't have to listen to what she said, you just watched what she did," said Harris.
In 1966, Field became one of the founding board members of Somerset County College. Through her efforts, RVCC established The Paul Robeson Institute for Ethics, Leadership and Social Justice and the Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies.
"Evelyn devoted her life to education and her belief in the power of education to unleash an individual's full potential," said Bateman. "She was the inner strength of the board, using her determination and compassion to promote diversity on campus and to expand educational opportunities in the community."
Steven H. Hobbs, Field's cousin, credited her for sparking a passion for education that took him all the way to Harvard University.
"She did her duty," said Hobbs, fighting back tears.
Dave Hutchinson may be reached at dhutchinson@njadvancemedia.com.Follow him on Twitter @DHutch_SL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
