John Evans

March 05, 1921 - June 24, 2010

John Thomas (“Jack”) Evans, 89, Palo Alto, CA died June, 2010.  Born March 5, 1921 in Tiffin, Ohio to Ernest and Mabel Evans.  As a child, Jack and his family lived in Milan, OH and then Portsmouth, NH. Jack graduated from Portsmouth High School (class of 1938) and Sacramento City College’s Technical Institute of Aeronautics (1940). He then went on to earn a B.S. from University of New Hampshire and an MBA from Harvard Business School (1948). During this time, he also served as a pilot in the U.S. Marine Corps and later, in the Korean conflict, as a Naval Aviator and Engineering Officer.

Jack met his wife, Joyce, in 1948. They were married on April 1, 1951 at the Church of the Wayfarer in Carmel, CA.

Jack joined Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M) in 1948 at the company headquarters in St. Paul, MN, moved to Atlantic Aviation Corp. (Beechcraft Aircraft) in Boston in 1956, and finally signed on with the Hewlett-Packard Corp. in Palo Alto, where he spent 26 years before retiring in 1986. 

 A perpetually honest, caring and giving man throughout his long life, Jack will be remembered by his devoted wife, family and friends for his acts of great generosity, patriotism, personal sacrifice and perhaps most importantly, optimism.  His cheerful smile, quick wit and commitment to family will be his endearing and enduring legacy.

Jack survived all three siblings: Ruth, Robert and Betty.  He is survived by his wife of fifty-nine years, Joyce Evans, of Palo Alto.  Other survivors include his nieces Beverly Collymore (daughter of Ruth), of Portsmouth, NH, and her son Evan Mallett, his wife Denise, and their children, Eleanor Parker and William Cormac, of Berwick, ME; Peggy Lunsford (daughter of Robert) and husband Ronnie, in Boerne, TX, and their son Alan; Penny Valentine (daughter of Robert) and husband Richard, of Hingham, MA; Debra Bell (daughter of Betty) of Apex, NC, and her sons Matthew and Michael; Susan Wright (daughter of Betty) and husband Dean, of Raleigh, NC, and their children Lindsay and Evan; Patti Dover (daughter of Betty) and husband Kim of Raleigh, NC, and their children Ryan and Anna; Jodi Nelson (daughter of Betty) and husband John of Raleigh, NC, and their children Adam and Stephanie.  He is also survived by his nephew Jerry Evans (son of Robert) of Maryland, his son Ryan Casey; and sister-in-law Joanne Evans of Florida.  Interment has taken place in Massachusetts.