Marion "Bud" Evans

Marion Woodrow "Bud" Evans
Beloved husband/father/brother/friend Bud Evans left his earthly home in Elm Grove Louisiana Sunday morning (May 1st) and entered the glory of heaven. He leaves in his wake a legacy of compassion, hard work, generosity, love and so many treasured memories.
Marion Woodrow "Bud" Evans arrived on August 26, 1937 in War, WV, as the oldest of three children born to Woodrow and Irene Evans. He and his siblings, Bob and Deanna, grew up in a loving Christian family. His father was a coal miner (and local hero who saved many men in a mining disaster), but Bud opted to leave home to pursue a career in the Air Force. He was in the military 23 years, serving on bases in Turkey, Dover, DE, Savannah, GA, Blytheville, AR, McGuire AFB, NJ and Okinawa, Japan, where he was stationed twice.
He retired from the Air Force after a stint at Barksdale, AFB in Bossier City, LA and worked briefly at Kast Metals before embarking on a second career as a mail carrier for the U.S. Post Office that would last more than two decades. Bud was always an extremely hard worker, often working two or three jobs at a time. He was also an adventurer and entrepreneur who developed and managed successful businesses while simultaneously working his Air Force and U.S. Post office jobs. He began scuba diving as a hobby while living on Okinawa and was soon recruited to teach other servicemen in the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps. When famed oceanographer/ichthyologist Dr. Eugenie Clark visited Okinawa as part of her research on shark behavior, she asked Bud to be her scuba guide.
After moving to Louisiana, Bud and his first wife Shirley, launched the Aqua Center, a scuba diving business that thrived for many years in the Shreveport/Bossier area. Not only did Bud handle private instruction for a legion of clients, he taught scuba at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas. He was also recruited to teach scuba to local law enforcement in order for them to handle search and recovery in area lakes, a job Bud and his friends did until they trained the sheriff's department to take over the tragic task. He also took students on frequent dive trips to the Gulf Coast, the Bahamas and other locations.
In more recent years, Bud and his wife Garnett developed a successful bee business, the Evans Honey Co., which sold honey in bulk to other businesses as well as serving small local retailers and customers who became friends at the Shreveport Farmers Market. Bud was a longtime member of the local bee club and was also actively involved in the Louisiana Farm Bureau.
With so many business pursuits, it might seem as though Bud wouldn't have time for fun, but that wasn't the case. He had a lifelong passion for learning and took a Japanese cooking class while living on Okinawa. He also became interested in lapidary and spent numerous hours polishing gem stones and making beautiful jewelry for family members. He was an avid hunter all his life and also loved fishing whether it was a local lake or a deep-sea charter. At one point, he held a commercial fishing license. He loved growing things and always had a hearty garden and raised pigs and chickens.
Bud enjoyed life to the fullest and he loved people. One of his friends once commented that Bud could and would talk to anyone. In fact, he said jokingly, "Bud could talk 20 minutes to an automated teller." It wasn't unusual for Bud to load his kids and all their friends in the car and take half of the neighborhood to 7-11 to get Icees. He was always the life of the party and when he and his students would take a chartered boat to the Bahamas to go scuba diving, the custom was to run a pair of Bud's boxers up the mast to serve as the Bossier City flag. That "flag" flew all over the Caribbean and often got strange looks when the boat would port.
The world just won't be the same without Bud Evans. Even when Alzheimer's caused his memory to falter, he never lost his sense of humor and frequently quipped: "There are only two things wrong with me. I can't remember shit and I don't give a shit." When his body began failing him, his spirit remained strong and he was a feisty as ever, always ready with a joke, an entertaining story and a big smile. He was a bright light that will live on in the many lives he touched.
Bud is survived by his wife of nearly 30 years, Garnett Long Evans, his brother Bob Evans and his wife Sharon, daughter Deborah Evans Price and her husband Gary Price, son Michael Evans and wife Glenda, son Bryan Evans and wife Renee, stepdaughters Crystal Akin and wife Samantha, Linda Johnson, and Jessica Grace; grandchildren Christopher Evans, Hunter Evans, Michaela Evans Roark, Corey Evans, Trey Price, Alexandra Evans, Cameron Johnson, Savana Turgeon, Xander Henry, Jerrod Evans, James Evans, Brett Evans, Dakota Whisman, Tiffany Whisman and Desi Whisman and great grandchildren Caleb Evans, Jerrod River Evans and Addilynn Evans.
A memorial service will be held Monday, May 9, at 11am at Aulds Funeral Home 7849 East Kings Hwy. Shreveport, LA.