Evelyn Rudon (1904-1997) was a lifelong resident of New York City. She married John J. Rudon (1907-1971) in Brooklyn on May 17, 1941, and the couple lived in Astoria, Queens. She began work as a civilian employee at the New York Naval Shipyard (commonly known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard) in 1951, spending the bulk of her career as a library assistant and clerk in the Technical Library. Following the closure of the Navy Yard in 1966, Mrs. Rudon continued to work as a clerk in the Navy Supervisor of Shipbuilding's Brooklyn office. She retired from the Navy in 1972.
The origins of the Brooklyn Navy Yard (officially known as the New York Naval Shipyard) date back to 1801, when the United States Navy acquired what had previously been a small, privately owned shipyard in order to construct naval vessels. By the time the Department of Defense ceased shipbuilding activities at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1966, 88 vessels had been manufactured at the facility. In 1967, the Brooklyn Navy Yard was acquired by the City of New York and was converted for private commercial use.
From the guide to the Evelyn Rudon Brooklyn Navy Yard collection, 1951-1972, (Brooklyn Historical Society)
