Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans
Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Bedford County, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | November 14, 1953 (aged 81) |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, benefactor, philanthropist |
| Known for | First female member of Coca-Cola's board of directors; founder of Lettie Pate Evans Foundation |
Letitia "Lettie" Pate Whitehead Evans (February 21, 1872 – November 14, 1953) was a prominent American entrepreneur and benefactor, recognized as the inaugural female member of Coca-Cola's board of directors.
Early life
Evans was born in Bedford County, Virginia, to parents Cornelius and Elizabeth Stagg Pate.
Personal life
In 1895, she wed lawyer Joseph Brown Whitehead, and the couple moved to Chattanooga. They became parents to two sons, Joseph Jr. and Conkey. The Whiteheads achieved a major business milestone in 1899 when Joseph obtained an exclusive bottling agreement for Coca-Cola, prompting their relocation to Atlanta in 1903 to grow their bottling enterprise.
Following Joseph’s passing due to pneumonia in 1906, Evans, at age 34, assumed leadership of the family’s business ventures, including the Whitehead Holding Company and Whitehead Realty Company. She took an active role in managing the bottling business, which at that time operated 80 facilities, later expanding further with the participation of her sons.
Second marriage
In 1913, Evans married Colonel Arthur Kelly Evans and established residence in Hot Springs, Virginia.
After the Woodruff family acquired Coca-Cola in 1919, Evans worked closely with Robert Woodruff. By 1934, with the bottling network surpassing 1,000 plants, she sold the bottling operations back to Coca-Cola in exchange for company shares. Subsequently appointed to Coca-Cola’s board of directors, she became one of the earliest women to serve on a major American corporate board and remained in that capacity for more than twenty years.
Philanthropy
Evans contributed millions of dollars to over 130 organizations primarily located in Virginia and Georgia. In 1945, she founded the Lettie Pate Evans Foundation, which inherited her entire estate upon her death in 1953. Her combined donations throughout her lifetime and through the foundation have surpassed one billion dollars.
A committed Episcopalian, Evans supported the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia and the Virginia Theological Seminary, which honors her legacy with a leadership award. She held trustee positions at institutions such as Emory University, Agnes Scott College, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and the American Hospital of Paris. She made substantial donations to the Georgia Institute of Technology—whose administration building is named after her—Berry College, the College of William and Mary, Washington and Lee University, as well as numerous educational and religious organizations.
Legacy
Evans outlived both her husbands and her sons. The Coca-Cola Board commended her as a steward of wealth dedicated to aiding those in need. Motivated by her charitable work, her eldest son established the Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation in tribute to his father. Her personal papers are preserved at Emory University’s Robert W. Woodruff Library.
Several academic buildings bear her name: Georgia Tech’s Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans Administration Building; Berry College’s Evans Hall and School of Humanities and Social Sciences; William and Mary’s Graduate Housing Complex; Emory University’s Residence Hall; and Agnes Scott College’s Dining Hall.
She also financed the Episcopal Diocese of Southwestern Virginia’s central office—Evans Diocesan House in Roanoke—with subsequent renovations funded by her foundation. Her portrait continues to be displayed there.
Her home in Hot Springs, Virginia, known as Malvern Hall, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.