Father’s Plight Influenced Evelyn’s Move to Home Instead
Evelyn Hornaday’s plunge into professional senior care – and a job with the award-winning Home Instead® franchise in Mount Airy, North Carolina – had a deeply personal bent.
Evelyn explained: “I had worked in retail management for more than 20 years, but due to a death in my family, I needed to move on from that. My dad needed care, so I stepped up to help as a family caregiver and in effect became his care manager. He was a U.S. Marine and Army veteran, so I worked with the Veterans Administration to secure some of his care. Even now, as a Home Instead Care Professional, I work with VA clients.”
Referring to her late father, who passed away in 2020 at the age of 80, Evelyn explained: “I could not find anyone who would do the job as his caregiver the way I wanted it done with care and love. Having gone through that experience, I knew there had to be other families who felt the same way I did when seeking help for their senior loved ones. I thought maybe I could help them, and so the love of caring for others continued to develop in my inner being.”
In 2017, Evelyn joined Home Instead, which is co-owned by Van and Ann Lankford and has served Surry County seniors and their families since 2011. “I learned about Home Instead by word of mouth. I had heard how great they were at providing care,” Evelyn recalled.
In September 2025, Evelyn was honored as Home Instead’s Care Pro of the Month. Among the considerations for achieving Care Pro of the Month status, an employee has shown she has gone above and beyond the call of duty. A Home Instead staff member said: “While working for us, Evelyn has been faithfully doing overnights, which is challenging.” Empathy and compassion are considered for the award, as well as skill and wisdom. Evelyn embodies Home Instead’s guiding principles of “Build Trust, Take the Lead and Share Your Heart.”
In addition to her strong companionship skills, Evelyn provides safety assurance, meal preparation, medication reminders, light housekeeping, and transportation and errands. She offers personal assistance with eating, grooming, dressing, bathing, incontinence care, cognitive impairment, hospice support and mobility. By expertly doing so, Evelyn not only assists her clients, but helps their families eliminate worry, reduce stress and re-establish personal freedom.
“The best part of my job is becoming part of a family,” Evelyn said, referring to the bonding process with clients and their family members. “I work overnight with Home Instead, mostly with clients I have had on a long-term basis, but some seniors are short-term clients. No matter how long I’ve assisted them, they all receive the same love and care just as if they were my family members.”
For Evelyn and her fellow Care Pros, touching lives impacts their souls, whether they are providing physical help such as light housekeeping, meal preparation, medication reminders or personal care or if they are offering emotional support in a companionship role.
“It’s hard to pick out one memorable client story that stands out over the others. It’s always nice to hear such things as, ‘Girl, I’m glad to see you. I can rest now because I know you will take care of me.’ But I also am sad when a client passes on,” Evelyn said.
In the case of one client, the family included Evelyn’s name in their senior loved one’s obituary and praised Evelyn for her care. She is clearly a quiet, unsung hero, the Home Instead staff said. Evelyn’s humble personality was never more evident than when she said: “It is difficult for me to talk about myself when I do what I do. I don’t think of it as a job.”
