Evelyne Jobe Villines

She then became the Director of Development at Iowa Lutheran Hospital in Des Moines until 1979. After that, she transferred to the Easter Seals Society of Iowa, Inc. as the Director of the Client Assistance Program from until 1991. During her time at the Easter Seals Society of Iowa, Inc., she became a motivational speaker, presenting her famous "In the Name of Love" speech to various international organizations. In 1994, President Bill Clinton assigned her to be a member of the Purchase from People Who are Blind or Severely Disabled, where she remained for 5 years before being reassigned for another 5 years in 1999. She was invited by President George H. W. Bush to the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to be a witness. Villines died on September 30, 2017, at the age of 87. She spent 20 years helping a non-profit organization that helps people with disabilities get jobs called SourceAmerica.

Villines died at Mercy Hospice in Johnston, Iowa on September 30, 2017.

Villines had 2 daughters named Chris and Tiedeman. Her son, Wes Ferguson, died in 2009. Villines has shared that the first time "she felt whole, not disabled" was when she held her first child in her arms after giving birth.

Villines was inducted into the National Hall of Fame for Persons with Disabilities in 1986. In 1994, Iowa state placed her into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame. in 1995, the National Industries for the Blind created an award in Vilines' name for excellence in the workplace. In 2000, she was recognized as the Woman of the Year by Metro Women's Network of Greater Des Moines. Also in 2000, she was awarded the Medtronic Full Life Award. The National Industries for the Blind's headquarters in Vienna, Virginia were renamed the Evelyn Jobe Villines Training Center in 2004.

Villines served for multiple committees during her career. From 1965 to 1975, she was the executive secretary of the Iowa Governor's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped. On the committee, she worked to educate others about what people with disabilities can do and also to work towards greater public accessibility. She was elected president of the Iowa Rehabilitation Association in 1968. In 1971, she named the chair of the women's division for the Easter Seal Campaign in Polk County. She was honored with the National Award of Gallantry from the Easter Seal Society in 1977.

Evelyne Jobe Villines (February 11, 1930 – September 30, 2017) was an American disability rights advocate and political activist who had Poliomyelitis. Villines worked for both the state of Iowa and the federal government as an advocate. The Des Moines Register called her a "nationally known spokeswoman for the disabled" in 1992.