Evangleine 'Vangie' Gates was born in Kenyon, Minnesota on March 12, 1922. At the age of 10, she moved with her family to Minneapolis.

Vange married James Smith. Their two children were both born in Minnesota: Varley in 1949 and Elnathan in 1954.

In 1959 they lived in Lake Forest, Illinois.

James died in Riverside, California on June 16, 1997. Evangeline died August 23, 2012 in Hennepin, Minnesota outliving James and both their children.

Evangeline did remarry to a Vange Smith.