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Walter F. Evans    ex-'54

 

December 8, 1929 - May 28, 2013          

Died: Fredericksburg, TX

Cremated. Inurned in Arlington National Cemetery, VA

 

Walter Fontaine Evans was born December 8, 1929, at Ft. Benning, GA, the only son of Lieutenant (later Colonel) John Humphrey Evans III and Sara Pick Evans, the daughter of Colonel Walter R. Pick Sr. of the Veterinary Corps. His father was Class of 1923, his grandfather Colonel William Pierce Evans was Class of 1878, and his uncle, Major General Vernon Evans, was Class of 1915. ‘Cotton,’ as Walter was known to his family and early friends, was proud of his military heritage.

 

He had the usual military family moves, attending eight different high schools before entering the Army in 1946, and following his discharge he attended the American School of Paris and L Alliance Francoise before re-enlisting and earning his jump and glider wings, entering West Point with the Class of 1954. Academics were a grind, taking turn-outs and wearing a groove in The Area.

 

Following The Academy, he joined the Foreign Service serving 14 years overseas with ICA, AID, and the Peace Corps as a program officer, advisor, and mission director in Korea, Mali, Yugoslavia, and Guinea and with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. He also served on the International Youth Hostel and International Secretariat for Volunteer Services and received  French  and Korean decorations and was selected the “Outstanding Young Man” in Asia by the Asian Federation of Junior Chambers of Commerce. He received an MBA from Loyola College in 1979. Following government retirement, he spent several years with Control Data, Computer Sciences Corporation, and Electronic Data Systems before retiring again and then being on-call by NFIP and FEMA as a disaster reservist and specialist. He served on the Board of Directors of the American Diplomatic Commissary, Inc., and has publication credits on sewage lagoons and housing.

 

He was active over 25 years in Scouting on the International Committee and as a commissioner and Scoutmaster. He was honored as a senator by the Junior Chamber International with an honorary lifetime membership having held local, state, national, and world offices and was selected by the governor as one of the four “Outstanding Young Marylanders” (1962). He was a lieutenant in the USAFCAP auxiliary and served as a USMA Zip Code admissions rep for several years. He was active on several American Society of Civil Engineers technical committees and was sub-chairman of the Montgomery County (MD) Board of Education School Construction Committee and Rockville Beautification Committee.


He had a strong dedication to public service in keeping with his proud heritage from his Sons of the American Revolution membership. He was a descendent of Founder Captain Edward Hutchinson, who was killed by Indians when negotiating a King Philip’s War Treaty, Patriot Judge Samuel Vernon, Sr., letter of marquee  “Marlborough” sea captain Samuel Vernon Jr., signer of the Declaration of Independence William Ellery, SC/VA militia Captain Aaron Fontaine, mid-nineteenth century Captain John Evans of the Indian wars and RMCP fame, and our first woman activist and theologian Anne Hutchinson.

 

His philosophies could best be expressed by his frequent statement, “Your luck began the day you were born an American,” and, “Life’s greatest treasures are your children.”

 

 

He fought an extended battle for several years with leukemia complicated by adult onset diabetes II. He  died of lung cancer on May 28, 2013, in Fredericksburg, TX, and will be inurned at Arlington National Cemetery. Walter Evans is survived by his wife Renate and three children: Sarah Brown, Stacey Evans, and John Evans, and their children.

 

Originally published in TAPS, 2014

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