John Louis Evans

John Louis Evans of Decatur GA passed away July 7, 2021 at 90 years of age. Dad was born in Statesville NC in May 1931 to John Louis and Helen Brown Evans. His father was employed by Purcell’s Drug Store and his mother was a teacher at what is now Mitchell Community College in Statesville. Dad went to work early in his life, starting at Crowson’s Feed Store in 1940 and continuing until 1952. He also replaced a paper carrier called to World War II, and he later picked cotton to help nearby farmers harvest their crop since adult labor remained scarce in the war years.
Dad graduated from Statesville High School in 1949 and was educated at Mitchell Community College for the next two years. In 1951 he entered Erskine College in Due West SC, where he majored in English and Social Sciences and graduated in 1953. After graduating, Dad got his first experience teaching high school in Union County NC for four months before himself being called to the military. He went through Basic Training and then served in Army Intelligence, including a tour at Fort Holabird, located in Baltimore MD.
Shortly after Dad entered Erskine College, he met Mary Jane Bigham of Atlanta. They fell in love and were married at First ARP Church in Atlanta on July 18, 1953. Mom’s parents were Joseph L. Bigham of Chester SC, who taught for 20 years at Atlanta’s Tech High School, and Florence Hood Bigham of Atlanta, a homemaker. Nana and Papa, as we knew them, took Dad into their family and treated him as one of their own.
Mom and Dad had four sons. Joseph David Evans was born in Alexandria VA in June 1954, which is where Nana and Papa were living after Papa took a job with the Veterans Administration in Washington DC and which was close to where Dad was stationed at the time. The rest of their children were born in Atlanta. James Lowry Evans was born in March 1956, Thomas McKamie Evans was born in September 1957, and Robert Deaton Evans was born in June 1959.
Dad mustered out of the military in late 1955 and began teaching history and social studies at Atlanta’s Murphy High School in the 1955-56 school year. He taught at Murphy for over 30 years. During many of those years, he also taught at Bass High School’s program for students finishing their high school degree at night. Along the way, Dad picked up a Masters in Education and a Masters in History from Emory University.
Dad took to retirement with gusto. He became a tour manager for the Travelaires, a Life Enrichment program, and he and Mom took numerous day trips and travelled to New York City, Europe, and many other places. He served for a number of years as the Stated Clerk of the Second Presbytery of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian (ARP) church, travelling all over Georgia and South Carolina, helping to install new ministers, and performing other administrative tasks that help churches prosper. Over his life, he attended Statesville ARP church, the First ARP Church of Atlanta, the Doraville ARP Church, and the Peachtree Corners ARP Church. For nearly 40 years he was the Director of Prosperity Cemetery, which was founded by the Doraville ARP Church. He retired from that post a week before he passed away. Most importantly for Dad, he began teaching history with Perimeter Adult Learning, Senior University of Greater Atlanta, Emory and Mercer University Continuing Education programs, and other organizations. He taught his last class in May of this year on his 90th birthday, marking 65 years of teaching history and social studies.
Dad is survived by his four sons and their wives, Joe and Jana (Kenyon) Evans, Jim and Leanne (Clevinger) Evans, Tom and Cheryl (Blessing) Evans, and Bob Evans and Carmen Serna. His sons and daughters-in-law presented him with 8 grandchildren, Joe and Jana’s children David Evans (Kathleen), Katherine Evans Hunt (Eric), John Kenyon Evans (Crystal), James Langston Evans (April); Tom and Cheryl’s son John William McKaime Evans; and Bob and Carmen’s daughters Sarah, Katie (Will Thomas), and Caroline. Dad was also blessed by 11 great- grandchildren: Liz, Eileen, EN, Amelia, JJ, William, Isabelle, Aaron, Charlie, Emma, and Levi, ranging in age from 12 years to less than 2 months.
Dad is also survived by his sister, Elizabeth Evans, of Davidson NC, and his nieces through Mom’s sister: Linda Kay Ridgway, Elaine Regus (Mark), Valerie Yezeski, and Laura Robinson (Skip). These are the Haite girls, for whom Dad always felt the greatest affection.
Dad was preceded in death by our mother, who passed away July 14, 2001. He is survived by his beloved friend and companion of recent years, Judy Taylor.
His sons will be forever grateful to Dad for the gifts he bequeathed us. He was a lifelong teacher, and his method with us was to teach by his own example. We learned self-discipline and the ethics of the Sermon on the Mount. We learned the benefits of family and others before self, of hard work, and of a life of purpose. We can only hope that we have passed along these same lessons to Mom and Dad’s further generations. Most of all, Dad was a great story teller, and he taught us to appreciate a tale well told. At the close of his life, we see that his final lesson was a life well lived.
A funeral service will be held Monday, July 12, 2021 at 2:00 PM at Peachtree Corners Presbyterian Church, with visitation from 12:30 - 1:30 at the church, followed by graveside services. Interment will be in Prosperity Cemetery in Chamblee. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Bonclarken Conference Center in Flat Rock NC at bonclarken.org. A.S. Turner and Sons Funeral Home and Crematory is in charge of arrangements.