Evelyn G. Whitaker

Evelyn "Ev" Whitaker sadly left this world on the morning of May 16, 2023 with her daughter Sarah, son-in-law Steve and very dear friend Melody by her side in Gillette, Wyoming.

Ev was born on July 25, 1954 in Verdin, Manitoba, Canada. In the early 1970s, Ev left Canada to follow her love for horses and went to work on a standardbred race farm in Florida.

While there, traveling up and down the east coast, she groomed and cared for the horses. In the late '70s, early '80s, she found herself in Chicago, Illinois. with the racehorses when she had to switch jobs.

She started working for a carriage company, where she met a lot of interesting people, like Michael Jordan in a photoshoot and teaching Nancy McKeon to drive a carriage for a tv show. She also worked as a security guard.

While working the two jobs, she still found time for her horses. While in Chicago, she met Richard Snelting and after some time they moved to the mountains of Colorado in Littleton.

On February 21, 1989, they welcomed their first daughter Stephanie, into the world. After spending a few years in Colorado, they moved to Clyman, Wisconsin. On February 20, 1992, they welcomed their second daughter, Sarah.

During her time in Wisconsin, she enjoyed being the person that always had a horse for someone to ride. She was always up to go for a ride, even in the middle of winter.

She made countless rides to the bar in Clyman. Along with riding her horses with friends, she also enjoyed working on the farm for her friend Tom.

In the late '90s she came out to Wyoming for a cattle drive with her friend Maren and fell in love with the area. On this trip, she met Joe Manders.

After returning to Wisconsin, she realized she missed Wyoming and Joe. So, she moved out to Wyoming, with the girls to follow in 2000. She started a cleaning business with her friend Maren and continued to clean houses until August 2022.

She always had her love for horses, family and friends and Wyoming. They moved into the Upton/Sundance area where she lived until 2021. In 2021, she moved up to Gillette to live with Steve and Sarah until her passing.

She is survived by her daughter, Sarah Sobania (Steve); three grandsons, Devin Johnson, Clayton Sandidge and Bradley Sandidge; brothers, Donnie Whitaker (Donna) and Rick Sibbick; her sisters, Deb Slater and Diana Deamel; and many nieces and nephews.

A celebration of life will be held at the Upton Community center on July 22, 2023 at 3 p.m., with food and drinks to follow. We ask that you bring memories, funny stories or kind words to share. We hope that we see you there to help celebrate this wonderful and special lady.