Eva Davis Brinkley went above and beyond for Richmond students at Armstrong High School.

Mrs. Brinkley be- gan as a health and physical education teacher at the school but spent most of her 40-year career as a member of the school’s Guidance Department, includ- ing serving 24 years as director.

Often called “Mom B” by students, she helped create class schedules for each student and was deeply involved in their planning for their futures after graduation.

In a show of devotion, Mrs. Brinkley donned other hats before school began and after the school day ended. She served at various points as coach of the girls basketball team and as the adult sponsor of the majorettes, cheerleaders and Girls Athletic Association.

She also created and led the Gentlemen, Athletes and Scholars, or GAS, program for boys and the Outstanding Intelligent Ladies, or OIL, program for girls to boost student self-esteem and self-confidence.

Her contributions to education are being remembered following her death Tuesday, June 8, 2021. She was 91.

Family and friends celebrated her life during a service Friday, June 18, at Scott’s Funeral Home Chapel in North Side. Dr.

Adam Bond, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, officiated, and the assistant pas- tor, the Rev. Brenda B. Summerset, delivered the eulogy.

Born in Henderson, N.C., Mrs. Brinkley began her career at Armstrong in 1952 after earning her undergraduate degree at Howard University.

Concerned that students were not being prepared for life after high school, she earned a master’s degree in guidance at New York University and switched from teaching to guidance in 1963 at the school. She took over as director in 1968 and remained in that role until she retired in 1992.

Armstrong also was the place where she met her husband, the late France “Jelly” Brinkley Sr., a social studies teacher who went on to chair the Social Studies Department before his death. The couple had two children.

Both before and after she retired from Armstrong, Mrs. Brinkley maintained a busy schedule of activities that earned her recognition in 2006 as one of “Richmond’s Magnificent Moms,” 25 of whom were honored by Style Weekly, Bon Secours and the Children’s Museum of Richmond.

“She was never too busy to visit the sick or lend a hand to those in need,” her family wrote of her.

Among other things, she was a former vice chair of the Richmond Youth Services Commission, was a longtime board member of the now defunct Richmond Gold Bowl Sponsors and also served on the boards of the Panthers 100 Club and Youth Emergency Services, her family said.

She also was a member of the Upsilon Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority for more than 50 years, earning recognition as a Golden Soror. She served on numerous committees of the Richmond graduate chapter and sang in the chapter’s Chorale.

Mrs. Brinkley also was active in Ebenezer Baptist Church. She served on a church committee focused on gaining recognition of the 165-year-old Jackson Ward church as a historic site and creating a history museum in the church. She also served on the Christian Education Committee, belonged to the Gleaners Sunday School Class, sang in the Women’s Choir and was a member of the Seasoned Spices Forever Young group.

Survivors include her children, France M. Brinkley Jr. and Evette B. Hobson; and two granddaughters.