William Henry Evans

1936 - 2024

September 27, 1936 - February 8, 2024 Bill grew up in Sierra Madre, CA and attended UCLA where he received a BS and an MS in Electrical Engineering. A lifelong UCLA fan, he proudly celebrated UCLA's undefeated National Champion football team during his freshman year in 1954. A summer internship in solar cell power supplies led Bill to do his master's research on solar power and orient his courses toward solid state physics. In 1962, he accepted a job at Hughes Aircraft, where he carried his work on solar power into the Apollo Program, joining a generation of engineers that made space exploration a reality. Bill worked for Hughes until his retirement in 1996.
Bill married Susan Bradley in 1966, and they established a lifelong home in Westchester, walking distance to his job at Hughes, where they raised their two children. Creating a musical home, he was a member of several choirs, including his role as a valued tenor in the Visitation Church Choir for decades. He always had a book, and when asked could offer a knowledgeable and well-thought-out opinion on a staggeringly diverse array of topics. Through careful planning, Bill retired at 60. Almost immediately, he and Susan began traveling, and he pursued his many interests, including paleontology. Bill volunteered as a docent at the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History for over 25 years. In 2012, he was awarded the museum's Volunteer of the Year.
In 2001 his world was shaken when he lost Susan after a brief illness. As a new widower, he dove into learning Spanish, and made multiple trips to Latin America. But most importantly, he connected with "an old friend in a new way" and married longtime family friend Marie Anne Mayeski. Bill and Marie Anne were married for the final twenty years of Bill's life. They joyfully shared arts, sports, music, and faith, taking every opportunity to dote on their five grandchildren. At the onset of the COVID pandemic, their life simplified. Marie Anne lovingly cared for Bill in his final years.
Bill was preceded in death by his older brother Raymond Picard. He is survived by his wife Marie Anne Mayeski, children Marianne (Bill Veiga) and Michael (Maureen Markey) Evans and five grandchildren, Tess and Susan Grace Veiga and Mairead, Bridget and Liam Evans. Services will be held at The Church of the Visitation on February 19 at 10 am with a live stream option. In lieu of flowers, the family asks those who are inclined to make a donation to The Special Olympics or The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.