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Virginia Evans

Home Featured Authors & Panelists Featured Participant Lineup 2025 Virginia Evans

Virginia Evans is the sixth child of Mildred and Red Evans. She grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with five older siblings whose ages spanned 22 years. Her parents raised her to love LSU football, home cooked meals, and precious time with her family. Evans graduated from LSU and LSU Law School. When not working, she enjoys sharing her valuable experience as a caregiver as well as helping others cope with aging parents.

Schedule

9:00 am to 9:45 am
Bienville Building, Conference Center 118
Tender Battles: Fighting for Dignity in the Face of Decline and Bureaucracy
Virginia Evans, The Youngest Bee: A Louisiana Story of Sisterhood, Strength, & Alzheimer’s
Jeremy White, InHumana: An American Healthcare Story
with moderator Miki Pfeffer

10:00 am to 10:45 am
Cavalier House Books Tent
Book Signing

The Youngest Bee: A Louisiana Story of Sisterhood, Strength, & Alzheimer's

Coming of age in the late 1970s/early 1980s in Louisiana, Virginia Evans describes an idyllic childhood filled with summer camps, shopping trips, LSU football games, and her parents’ annual elaborate Christmas parties. The youngest of six siblings, whose ages span over 22 years, Virginia had her parents to herself for most of her young life.

Virginia’s world is shattered when her beloved father, Red, becomes seriously ill and passes away when she is just 24 years old. Reality sets in at his funeral as the “Youngest Bee” realizes that she is no longer the baby of the family. She takes on the responsibility of caring for her grieving, aging mother, Mildred.

The Youngest Bee is more than just a story of determination triumphing over tragedy. It is a love story. The bond Virginia shares with her sisters, “The Four Bees,” and “finding laughter among the chaos” are what propelled them through their darkest days—from mental illness to cancer and dementia. The romance of Red and Mildred is woven throughout as the common thread that holds the family together.