Newport Beach’s ‘Sweetheart’ Dead at 91

Evelyn Hart with her dog, Lady Jane, adopted from Newport Beach Animal Shelter. Courtesy of Robyn Grant

Evelyn Reese Hart—often referred to as one of Newport Beach’s “great dames” and “sweetheart”—died peacefully Nov. 23 after a recent stroke. She was 91.

Born Willie Evelyn Reese on Jan. 24, 1931, in Phoenix, Arizona, Hart moved to Newport Beach in the 1950s.