James Evans

James Evans

Commander James A. Evans, USN (Ret.), 77, a resident of Easton since 2007 and formerly of Severna Park resident for 39 years, died March 7 at Memorial Hospital of Easton after suffering a cardiac arrest.

He was born Aug. 31, 1933, in Washington, D.C., to the late Turk and Gertrude Wallace Evans, and graduated from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in 1951. He attended Severn School for a short time before entering the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating with the class of 1956. After flight training, he went on numerous tours of duty at sea as an all-weather fighter pilot, and was in the first Navy F4 Phantom Squadron. Along with numerous decorations during his career, Jim received the Navy Commendation Medal with a gold star, the Air medal with 3 stars, and the Vietnam Service Medal with a bronze star. Jim attended the Naval Postgraduate School and received his Master's degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Princeton University in 1965.

After retiring from the Navy in 1976, he worked as an engineering consultant through the year 1998. Jim was a very active sailboat racer for many years, sailing out of Severn Sailing. He was an avid golfer, scuba diver, gardener and bird carver. He was a lifetime member of the Naval Academy Alumni Association, and an active member of the Easton Club East, the Easton Golf Club, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, and several bird organizations.

He is survived by his wife of more than 54 years, Petra Read Evans; four children, Anne E. Danneberger (John) of Severna Park, Leslie S. Evans (Tom Hedding) of Greensboro, N.C., Laurie E. Ross (Tom) of Severna Park and James A. Evans Jr. (Janie) of Ridgefield, Conn.; 11 grandchildren; and sister, Sue Snyder of Bishopville.

Services will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 10 at the U.S. Naval Academy Chapel in Annapolis, Md. Vehicles without Department of Defense decals must enter Gate 8 and all attendees over age 16 must have valid photo identification. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Friends of Blackwater, 2145 Key Wallace Drive, Cambridge, MD 21613 or the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, 213 North Talbot St., St. Michaels, MD 21663.