Evelyn Reese Hart—often referred to as one of Newport Beach’s “great dames” and “sweetheart”—died peacefully Nov. 23 after a recent stroke. She was 91.
Born Willie Evelyn Reese on Jan. 24, 1931, in Phoenix, Arizona, Hart moved to Newport Beach in the 1950s.
She served for 16 years on the Newport Beach City Council and two terms as its mayor in the 1980s.
Previously, she worked for the Newport Beach Police Department, served on the city’s parks and recreation department, and worked at her husband’s family business, Hart’s Sporting Goods, located in Newport Beach.
“Evelyn was a very generous and kind person and very into supporting her community,” Newport Beach City Councilwoman Robyn Grant told The Epoch Times.
Grant said she participated in several community projects with Hart and said she excelled in “friend raising.”
The two worked together to bring a new animal shelter to the city through the Friends of Newport Beach Animal Shelter, which will open next spring.
Both Hart and Grant are founding members of the organization.
The nonprofit deeded the new facility and its land to the city shelter Nov. 29.
“It’s kind of poignant that that project came to fruition and it was something that Evelyn really wanted,” Grant said. “Her legacy will go on with every animal that’s adopted.”
Hart was also a member for many years of Speak up Newport for many years, a community forum that focuses on issues in the city.
One of her accomplishments was also helping the city raise funds for the OASIS Senior Center in the mid-2000s, where the Evelyn Hart Events Center is named in her honor.
She was also instrumental as lead negotiator on behalf of the city in the 1985 settlement agreement with John Wayne Airport, which stipulated regulations for the airport to reduce aircraft noise and implement an annual passengers cap.
Walt Howald, who worked with Hart through various organizations including Friends of OASIS and the Friends of Newport Beach Animal Shelter, told The Epoch Times that Hart excelled at bringing people together.
“She was a great conciliator, a great compromiser, but also strong on her convictions,” he said. She was “the quintessence of a leader in my estimation.”
Hart was also awarded Newport Beach Citizen of the Year in 2007 and was a member of the city’s Youth Employment Services, Stop Polluting Our Newport, and the Coastline College Board. Statewide she was a member of the Blind Institute of California and the California State Water Resources Control Board.
She is survived by her husband of 65 years John Lynn Hart, among many others.
