A class of functional differential equations in some Hilbert space are studied. The results are applicable to many quasi-linear parabolic paratial differential equations with (possibly) countably many discrete delays and finitely many distributed delays in the highest order spatial derivatives. For the linear case, an evolution operator on the underline space H is introduced, via which a variation of constant formula for the solution of the equation in the underline space H is derived. Some spectral properties of the generator of the solution semigroup defined on some appropriate space are discussed as well.