Dorothy Marie Evans

As they say in the mysteries I so loved to read, "If you're reading this, I must be dead."
I being Dorothy Marie McFarland Evans, born in Bay City, Michigan on January 18, 1950 and passed away in Weiser, Idaho on October 16, 2025. My parents were Russ and Peg McFarland and I had one older sister, Kathy.
Kathy was very ill throughout her childhood and needed a warmer climate so when I was five, my family moved from Michigan to Sacramento, California. In the '50's and 60's, Sacramento was a nice place to grow up and I was able to freely walk to friends, the swimming pool and to school. In the summer after dinner, all the kids in the neighborhood would meet at our house to play basketball, four-square, hopscotch or softball, all of which we umpired ourselves. Life was good.
In 1968, I graduated from Loretto High School and went on to earn an AA degree from American River Junior College. Over the next ten years, I lived in Virginia (twice) and Kentucky, then landing back in California.
I'll only touch on the highlights and the highest of the high was meeting my future husband John. I was the office manager for a CPA firm in the Bay Area and one of my responsibilities was the firm's computer systems. I attended a software users' conference in Newport Beach, CA, where I met John Evans, a partner in a CPA firm in Santa Monica, CA. That night we went on a cruise on Newport Bay and we've been together ever since. We married on June 13, 1987 in the chapel in Yosemite National Park. After numerous failed attempts to adopt or foster a child, we decided we were blessed just to have each other and that was enough to lead a very happy life.
Another highlight in my life was volunteering to coach Special Olympics for ten years, from 1990 to 2000. It was a year-round commitment because I coached basketball, softball and track. We'd practice in the evenings after work and go to tournaments on the weekends. Our basketball team even went to State games held at UCLA. Those were great times.
In 2005, we saw an advertisement in a Triple A magazine for the National Old Time Fiddlers' Contest and we thought, what a hoot! Let's go! I called the number and spoke to Cindy Campbell who asked what tickets I needed. I still remember the shock in her voice when I told her everything. While attending the contest, we fell in love with Weiser. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming that we decided to move here when we retired. And so we did, in September 2011.
My favorite quote is from Saint Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa). She said, "Do you want to do something beautiful for God? There is a person who needs you. This is your chance." John and I tried to live this quote. Right from the start, we became involved in various groups. We were in the Lions, we helped cook the community Christmas dinner every year, we took tickets and served dinner at the Weiser Little Theater, we kept score at the Elks Hoop Shoot, we ushered and took tickets at the fiddle contest, we helped in the reading program at Pioneer School, we were in charge of the coat ministry through Love INC for the last five years and I helped lead Fit & Fall Proof classes, was membership chair for the WAPC, gave rank reviews for the Boy Scouts and co-coordinated Weiser's quarterly blood drive, among others. In 2016, we were honored to receive the Weiser Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year award (in those days the community voted for you making it more special) and in 2019, I was again honored with the First Lady of Weiser. Both these awards were cherished. We got so much enjoyment working these causes, causes that keep Weiser unique and strong.
Life was not all volunteer work and no play. John and I loved to go on cruises and tours. We weren't the German river cruise types, but See America First. Through baseball tours we not only got to visit 28 of the 30 MLB parks, but also got to sightsee in each of those great cities, New York, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami, Atlanta, Tampa and more. We cruised New York harbor and rode a hovercraft over the Everglades. As for cruises, our last was to the five Great Lakes.
Through all our affiliations, we've met a lot of wonderful, caring people. In turn, Angel Wings immediately upon my return from the hospital texted me to know that food would arrive daily for John throughout this ordeal. What a blessing that was.
Speaking of blessings, I wish to thank all my friends who continually stopped by to cheer me up. That meant so much to me.
Thank you, also, to Colin from Heart and Home Hospice whose compassion and care could not be surpassed.
Another blessing was Gay Morinaka who stepped in to take over the coat giveaway. It's a huge undertaking and I am so appreciative of her. She has been such an angel.
My biggest blessing of all has been and will always be my husband, John. We've had 38 wonderful years together. He has been my rock through all of this. We are everything to each other, a true love story.
I am survived by my husband, John Evans, my sister Kathryn Platt, my nephew Linus Platt, my niece Palomalisa Begin, my great nephew Lucian Yudt and my sweet dog, Chloe.
Funeral arrangements are pending.