A match made in a shelter

Sheryl Johnson, Evan Tavares tie the knot

BY KARLA JOSEPHS Observer West reporter

Thursday, February 09, 2012

MONTEGO BAY, St James - SHERYL Johnson and Evan Tavares met at the Refuge of Hope Shelter in 2008 and were instantly attracted to each other. Now four years later, they have tied the knot.

In a February 7 interview with the couple, who exchanged nuptials only three days earlier at the Calvary Baptist Church in the western resort city, they spoke candidly about their past and their relationship.

Sheryl, 45, a graduate of Tarrant Secondary School (now Tarrant High) in Kingston, used to live in the capital and worked as a babysitter for a day care centre in Gregory Park, St Catherine.

When her tenure at the day care centre came to an end, she decided to move to Montego Bay where she found a job as a domestic worker. She eventually had to leave that job and return to Kingston where she stayed with her sister until she got word that she could stay at the Refuge of Hope shelter in the second city. Sheryl had been living at the Refuge of Hope Shelter for many years, when she met Evan.

Evan, 58, who attended a high school in Westmoreland up to second form, worked with a few hotels as a security guard. After the security company he worked with lost the contract with the hotel, he fell on hard times and decided to approach the manager at City Spirit Assembly about helping him to find a shelter.

Two weeks later, he returned to the Assembly at which time he was informed that the Refuge of Hope would accommodate him. It is while there that he met Sheryl.

Evan would sometimes do her laundry and carry them to her afterwards just so he would have a chance to talk to her. At other times, she would go to his dorm to collect the laundry, also to allow for their talks. They would also arrange meetings outside the facility so that they could get to know each other better.

With time, the relationship blossomed.

For the past two years, Evan and Sheryl have been employed at Open Heart Charitable Missions — Evan as a grounds man and Sheryl as a janitor.

Acting administrator at Open Heart Charitable Missions Sandra Henry had high praise for the couple.

"Sheryl is dedicated and very thorough and you can rest assured that if you forget to do something she has your back (while Evan is) a loving and caring person and is always looking out for someone else.... (He is) very unselfish," she noted.

Meanwhile, the love between the couple who not only live but also work together, is clear.

"She is a warm, God-fearing and a quiet person," Evan told Observer West, when asked what he loves most about his wife.

He added that he had long known he would marry her — from the early days of their relationship when he had taken her to his church and informed the pastor of his intentions.

"He will do anything for me and he helps out around the house," was Sheryl's response when asked the same question about Evan.

According to Evan — the father of seven children — the most valuable lesson he has learnt about love is the never-ending love that God has for him and how important it is to have God at the centre of one's life.

He noted that after he met and got to know Sheryl, he decided that it was time to settle down, fully commit himself to God and to change his life. He is grateful to his wife for that.

"Two persons made in the image of God have found love in each other and have, through that love, made a commitment to the church," said Reverend Pastor Everton Jackson, who officiated at the couple's wedding.

Evan and Sheryl Tavares left the shelter three months ago and now share a home in Norwood, St James.

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A match made in a shelter