Evelyn Ann Farris directed a portion of her estate to be left to a nonprofit organization. Her family honored her wishes and her memory by establishing The Evelyn A. Farris Fund. Created as an unrestricted fund it will support BAF’s Annual Community Grant Program. The daughter of Gus and Jamile Salem Farris, Evelyn was one of 10 children. Gus came to America in 1907 at the age of 17 and worked for merchants in Charleston, WV before starting his own business in Beckley. The Gus Farris Department Store, a family owned clothing store, served the Beckley community for 80 years. Miss Farris spent her career as an owner and operator of the store along with three of her siblings until it closed in 1991. Miss Farris was very devoted to her family and cared for her parents and several siblings in ill health. A member of St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church she frequently told her extended family that your health is your wealth.