<strong>Who:</strong> Evelyn &ldquo;Evie&rdquo; Bainbridge of Lenexa</p><p><strong>When and how she died: </strong>Oct. 8, two days after suffering a severe stroke</p><p><strong>Age:</strong> 84</p><p><strong>Airline magic: </strong>Evie grew up in Minnesota as a first-generation American. Her dad had emigrated from Norway at age 13.</p><p>&ldquo;She was proud of her Norwegian heritage,&rdquo; said her husband, Bill Bainbridge.</p><p>Evie earned an art degree from St. Olaf College, but her life soon took a detour. In 1947, she became a stewardess for TWA. She met Bill, a TWA pilot, on her first flight from Kansas City to Albuquerque, N.M.</p><p>&ldquo;She had to serve breakfast between Kansas City and Wichita, and we were always a little concerned about those new flight attendants,&rdquo; Bill recalled. He sent the co-pilot back into the cabin. The co-pilot gave a positive report on Evie and her work. A month later, Bill and Evie began dating.</p><p>Evie appealed to him on a number of levels, Bill said.</p><p>&ldquo;She was a Christian woman and a home-builder who wanted a family,&rdquo; Bill said. &ldquo;She was very smiley and outgoing, but not aggressively so. And she was beautiful &mdash; we really hit it off.&rdquo;</p><p>The couple married about a year later in 1948, and Evie retired from TWA.</p><p><strong>Homemaker and painter: </strong>While Bill&rsquo;s career with the airline continued to soar, Evie concentrated on the home front. Over the next several years the couple had four children. Evie settled into life raising the children, being active in church and painting.</p><p>&ldquo;She had a real gift for painting,&rdquo; said son Mark Bainbridge. &ldquo;She would paint at least once a week.&rdquo;</p><p>Over the years, Evie painted all kinds of subjects, working primarily in oils. Among her favorite subject matter was Kansas City&rsquo;s historic Union Station.</p><p>&ldquo;She also had some popular fat lady paintings that someone posed for,&rdquo; Bill said.</p><p>For a while Evie shared a studio with several other artists in the Waldo area. She also showed her work as an exhibitor in the early years of the Plaza Art Fair. And it was Evie who did the initial design of the family&rsquo;s home at Lake Quivira, where the Bainbridges lived for more than 50 years.</p><p>Evie and Bill, as well as their children, traveled extensively around the world thanks to the benefits of working for TWA. Evie even got to visit her ancestral homeland of Norway on one venture.</p><p>&ldquo;We used our passes a lot,&rdquo; Bill said. &ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t unusual for Evie to pick up our kids and go to London for the weekend.&rdquo;</p><p>Evie taught Sunday School for years. She passed along her spiritual nature to Mark. </p><p>&ldquo;I saw her example of love of the Lord and it inspired my life,&rdquo; Mark said.</p><p><strong>Retirement life:</strong> When Bill retired from TWA, he embarked on a second flying career that took the couple to Pakistan and Uruguay.</p><p>&ldquo;She faithfully followed me down and enjoyed that part of the world.&rdquo;</p><p>Later in life, Evie found a career with AIM nutritional products, which she sold from home. Over 15 years, Evie rose through the company&rsquo;s ranks to the top levels.</p><p>&ldquo;She fell in love with it,&rdquo; Bill said. &ldquo;When she fell in love with something, she was very good at it.&rdquo;</p><p><strong>Survivors include:</strong> Her husband, two sons and two daughters, 10 grandchildren and one sister.</p><p><strong>Evie&rsquo;s legacy: </strong>&ldquo;Her family and her faith,&rdquo; Bill said.