Evelyn L. Breting

Evelyn L. Breting, daughter of the late Ralph W. Gall and Clara Gall of Punxsutawney, Pa., passed away on Sunday, May 10, 2015 at the age of 82.

Evelyn will be remembered as always cheerful and optimistic with a loving heart and a helpful hand.

She was born in Indiana County, Pa. and was a graduate of Punxsutawney (Pennsylvania) High School and Indiana State Teachers College (now Indiana University of Pennsylvania), Indiana, Pa. in 1955.

She is the wife of the late Kenneth Breting, formerly of Canton, Ohio, and more recently of Fountain Hills.

Surviving siblings are brother, Ernest Gall of Jackson, Mich.; and sisters, Mrs. Eleanor Graff of Lafayette, Ind., Mrs. Jeannette Jenkins of Carbondale, Ill. and Mrs. Vivian Leidy of Greenfield, Mass.

Around the coffee table in their Fountain Hills residence, Evelyn and Ken founded what is now St. Anthony on the Desert Episcopal Church of Scottsdale. For more than 20 years, Mrs. Breting was the face of the Fountain Hills Community Center. She managed the original facility for 17 years, and she and husband Ken were heavily involved in the design of the current center.

Evelyn then became a director of volunteers and special events at the new center.

Her volunteer work was quite extensive since moving to Fountain Hills from Ohio in 1982.

With a musical background, she initiated the Community Chorus, In Home Concerts, school music programs and the expanded community concerts. She was also instrumental in forming the Cultural Council and Public Art Committee.

Following the town’s incorporation, she served on the interim Parks and Recreation Commission and the Facilities Advisory Commission. She was an early member of the School District’s Continuing Education Committee and received the school’s Pride Award.

She has also received the Spirit of Community Award, MCO’s Community Award. She was a long-time member of the Historical Society, Civic Association, Library Association, Women’s Club, and Art League. She was an honorary member of Noon Kiwanis and a member of the Lower Verde Valley Hall of Fame.

Because of her extensive volunteer service to the community, the Town of Fountain Hills awarded Evelyn the President’s Lifetime Volunteer Service Award, a national honor signed by the President of the United States.

Evelyn was the epitome of such an award and made volunteering a central part of her life.

Please join us to celebrate Evelyn’s life at her memorial service at St. Anthony on the Desert Episcopal Church at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 30. Memorial contributions may be made as “Memorial to Evelyn Breting” to the Fountain Hills Cultural and Civic Association -- FHCCA, P.O. Box 18254, Fountain Hills, AZ 85269 or to St. Anthony on the Desert Episcopal Church, 12990 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale, AZ 85259.

What a wonderful, loving and caring lady she was. Bless you and thank you, Evelyn.