J Kenneth "Ken" Evans

J. Kenneth (Ken) Evans was born on June 1, 1936, to William and Edith Evans in Lexington, KY. He died peacefully in his sleep surrounded by family on January 3, 2026, exactly one month after the death of his beloved wife, Margi.

He grew up in Austin, Minnesota with his two sisters, Rosemary Alland (Larry) and Margaret Lott (Bryan). He earned his bachelor's degree from Transylvania University. He went on to earn his Master of Divinity degree at Lexington Theological Seminary. This is where he met his wife of 66 years, Margaret (Margi) Evans. They were married in 1959 in Des Moines, Iowa.

As an ordained minister with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), he and Margi served many congregations. He began his ministry at Lakewood (Ohio) Christian church as the associate pastor. This is where their children, Jolynne Evans Francis (Eric) and Jeff Evans were born. He was then called to start a new congregation in Sylvania, Ohio, McCord Road Christian Church. After successfully starting that congregation, the family moved to Elyria, Ohio, where he served as the senior pastor of Washington Ave. Christian church from 1969-1983. From 1983-1987, he was pastor at the First Christian Church in Bowling Green, Ohio.

Ken branched out beyond the pulpit to serve the church in two roles. He loved Camp Christian in Ohio. This is where youth gathered every summer for a week creating the beloved community of God. In addition to serving as a counselor and assistant director, he led the capital fund raising campaign, "Touch Tomorrow". This very successful campaign resulted in complete transformation and modernization of the camp. He also served as the director of development for the National Benevolent Association, which is the health and social services general ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Margi and Ken retired in Westerville, Ohio, where they were active members of Northwest Christian Church. He sang in the choir and served on boards with the church.

One of his greatest joys was being Granddad to Matt Franca (Alyssa), Austin Francis (Claire), Nicole Evans (Michael Bamford), Adam Francis, Jacob Francis (Abby), Jaden Evans (Kaitlyn Erskine) and Rachel Francis. He also loved being Great Granddad to seven great grandchildren!

In addition to his family, Ken had a passion for cars and gardening. The classic cars (1920-1945) were his favorite, and he was a member of the Classic Car Club of America. He was a master gardener, which fully blossomed in his retirement. He cultivated many gardens at his homes throughout the years, as well as the Westerwood retirement community in Columbus. He loved many genres of music, with his favorites being jazz, classical, and brass bands.

Ken and Margi enjoyed many adventures together. Their favorite place was the family cottage in Michigan where they spent many wonderful summers and falls since 1968. Ken was particularly fond of Michigan flowers that he planted at the cottage and even brought home to Ohio. He loved to "putz" around the cottage, always working on multiple projects. He even finished some of them! When he wasn't working on projects, he spent hours "neighboring" with friends and strangers!

A celebration of life will be held for Ken and Margi at Northwest Christian Church in Columbus, Ohio on January 10, 2026. The family visitation will be at the church from 9:30am – 11:00am, followed by a Celebration of Life service.

The family suggests memorial gifts be sent to:

· Christian Church in Ohio

- Camp Christian Scholarship

· Alzheimer's Association