Ronald Vaughn Evans

It is with sadness that we say goodbye to our patriarch, Ronald V. Evans, who died at home at the venerable age of 96 surrounded by his family. Ron is survived by his children, Birgitt and Robert, son-in-law Chuck, daughter-in-law Sunisa, granddaughter Sarina, grandson Miles, sister-in-law Nanny, five nephews and many, many great nieces and nephews.
An only child of divorced parents, Ron was born in London, England where he was raised in the Evans household by his mother, Winnifred and grandparents, William and Rose. He lived an ordinary childhood enlivened by trips to the beach with his Aunt Maud and cousin, Betty Smith until September 3, 1939 when World War II was declared. He was sent out of London with a name card around his neck twice, first to Broxborne and then to Hitchen, Hartfordshire only to return in time for the Blitz to begin a year later. During the war, he lost his best friend and the entire block across from his school in bombing raids and helped his grandfather put out a fire in the family kitchen on Ronald's Road in Highbury.
After the war, Ron did his military service in the Royal Air Force, servicing airplanes at RAF Coltishall in Norfolk. In 1952, weary of rationing, Ron set out for New York City where he landed a job as an elevator operator which led to a job as a bellhop. He used the generous tips to bring his cousin, Dale Harris to the US. Ron and Dale shared a one room apartment on 23rd St which they painted aquamarine and terra cotta with black shades, much to the shock of their landlady. In 1953, he read about New Zealand and sailed there via the Panama Canal and Pitcairn Island. The city boy spent a year working on a dairy farm before returning to New York.
In 1960, he headed to San Francisco where his roommate introduced him to Dawn and Merrill who were friends with Vincent and Sally who, in 1961, introduced him to a young
Swedish immigrant, Britt Ohlsson at the ice skating rink of the Jack Tarr hotel. The six of them spent the summer of 1962 sharing a cabin in Inverness, a time they referred to as their honeymoon. That fall, Ron began studying to become a CPA at Golden Gate University. They married in December of 1962 and welcomed a daughter, Birgitt in the summer of 1963. In 1967, they moved to Corte Madera where they welcomed their son, Robert.
The following years were busy ones for Ron as he worked days, studied for the CPA exam in the evenings and grew into his role as a parent. The family bought a home in Corte Madera in 1970 and settled into suburban life with trips to the Sierras and to Los Angeles to visit friends. In 1973, Ron realized a dream, visiting Sweden for the first time and getting to know his Swedish family. The first morning, he awoke at 5AM and made his way downtown in search of a Konditori, something that would become a bit of a pilgrimage on each visit to Sweden.
In 1976, Ron joined a group of ex-pats to become one of the first youth soccer coaches in Marin, taking on the under 10 team and helping bring the sport to the US. The years passed quickly with his job as a controller, soccer games, time spent with friends and more trips to Sweden. In the 1980s - with great pride - he saw his children off to UC Berkeley and UCLA respectively. He also bought a tax practice with a partner and worked long hours during the tax season.
With the nest empty, Ron and Britt began to do more socially, seeing old friends, attending local events and spending every August in Sweden for Britt's mother's birthday as well as exploring the rest of Europe. In 1996, they welcomed their son-in-law, Chuck into the family. Ron sold his
tax practice in 1999, retired and learned to play chess. He enjoyed playing with his friend Bill and coordinating the College of Marin Chess Club. He and Britt were also deeply involved in the Larkspur Walkers, where they made many friends, going on local walks and various excursions.
In 2011, they welcomed their daughter-in-law, Sunisa into the family and Ron went to Thailand for the wedding and accompanied the newlyweds to Koh Samui for their honeymoon. Ron was ecstatic about the birth of his granddaughter, Sarina in 2014, fussing over her and spoiling her.
Eventually, Britt developed dementia and Ron was called upon to shepherd her through a challenging disease which he did faithfully and without complaint. With Britt's passing in 2017, Ron found himself alone at an advanced age with no cooking skills. Still he persevered, developing routines. As was his wont. He fared much better when Robert's family joined him in Corte Madera in 2019 and he was thrilled to welcome grandson, Miles in 2020.
Ron continued on into his final years, declining slowly physically, but still mentally sharp until the end, enjoying as much as he could for as long as possible until he slipped away from us. Through all the years, he cared for and looked after his family, their well being his highest priority. We will miss him dearly.
A celebration of Ron's life will be held at 11AM on Thursday, May 29th at Valley Memorial Park, 650 Bugeia Lane in Novato. A luncheon will follow.