Evan was a beloved son, uncle and brother who was much loved for his uniqueness, creativity and love of life and all that it had to offer. His smile and laugh were infectious and contagious to all who were fortunate enough to be in his presence, and so many wished to call him a friend.

To many of us, he was larger than life because of his adventurous spirit and his ability live life by his own rules. Evan was never unkind, and he was certainly never idle. He had an adventurous spirit that meant that he needed to be on the go all of the time, often paying his rent for a year and just taking off. He loved being on boats, whether it was sailing from his hometown of Duluth, canoeing through the BWCA, or working the fishing boats in Alaska. He loved hitchhiking and camping across Canada, and Europe. He loved riding the railways to wherever they would take him. Evan was an avid artist. He was a painter, a drawer, a craftsman with metal and wood, and he often designed and sold his custom woodwork and iron finials to local contractors and homeowners. He was an avid reader, a poet, and a world class chef. His talents and worldly knowledge were unending.

Unfortunately, Evan’s life was cut much too short by that ugly demon cancer. But, even with that curse, he was able to give one last gift of himself, his eyes. His family hopes that his recipient can now see life to be just as exciting as Evan did, and that he or she can now light up every room they enter with those beautiful eyes and an infectious smile. Evan would hate being called a hero, and would hate being on this wall. He was always “just Evan,” which that and a smile, was a family expression of love that told you all that you needed to know. So, we prefer to look at this as just what Evan would do; he would give you the shirt off his back, and he has given the only thing that he could. As a family, we feel that we have a beautiful ending with a gift of love, promise and hope from a man who was full of all of these things and so much more.