Shawn Curtis Evans

1962 - 2026

After a brief but courageous fight with cancer, Shawn Curtis Evans died peacefully at home on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. Shawn lived a life full of family, friends, trapping, hunting and fishing. Born on Dec. 19, 1962, he was 12 years old when he moved to Fairbanks with family from Parkersburg, West Virginia, and never looked back. From that time on, his passion was the outdoors where he became the quintessential Alaskan.
Growing up in Parkersburg, he was surrounded by a huge extended family on both sides and lifelong friends who he remained in touch with for the rest of his life. His favorite thing to do was to be outside in the woods exploring. At 7 years old, Grandpa Jack gave Shawn his first shotgun which he used to hunt squirrels, rabbits and birds.
In the 1970s, Grandma Sis kept her promise to Grandpa Jack that if he quit drinking, she would move to Alaska with him. In 1973, Jack Jr., Shawn's uncle, moved to Fairbanks. The next year Grandpa Jack, Grandma Sis, Shawn, and two other cousins traveled to Fairbanks for a visit. One year after that, Shawn's parents Pam and Gary and his two siblings Andrea and Morgan, packed everything up and journeyed for 17 days from Parkersburg to Fairbanks. There was no place to live in Fairbanks so they ended up in two teeny-tiny cabins at 44-mile on the Steese Highway.
The school bus would pick them up at 44-mile at 7:30 in the morning and bring them home in the afternoons from Fox Elementary. Although they were an outdoorsy family, this was the first time living in a 12-foot by 10-foot dry cabin hauling wood and water and using Coleman Lanterns for light. They foraged foods like wild mushrooms and berries, found half-dead kings out of the Chatanika River, ate whatever they hunted: rabbits, grouse, moose, and caribou, supplemented by homemade bread baked in the wood stove.
Eventually, the family moved into a house with creature comforts closer to town. Shawn attended West Valley High School and graduated in 1981.
Following high school, Shawn attended taxidermy school in Arizona, a skill he was well known for across the United States. He joined the painters union, working all over the state of Alaska, often working alongside his brother Morgan. After nearly 15 years as a painter, Shawn worked in commercial real estate for 25 years with his mother at Alaska Commercial Properties. Shawn was a member of the Fairbanks Lions Club and the National Association of Realtors.
Of all his accomplishments, Shawn was most proud of his three girls, Sharron, Alicia, and Amanda.
Shawn was preceded in death by his father, Gary L. Evans; his grandparents, Jack and Doris Hendrickson and Charles Evans; uncles, Jack (Becky), Stanley (Peggy); his best friend, Marty.
He is survived by his daughters, Sharron, Alicia (Ash), and Amanda.; ex-wife, Bok Ki; grandsons, Dax and Travis; granddaughter, Danica; mother, Pamela Throop; stepfather, Bob Parr; siblings, Andrea (David) Barker and Morgan (Denise) Evans and Leah Evans; nephews, Nicholas, Joshua (Kendra), Mason (CJ), and Gary (Courtney); nieces, Sydney and Ellie; great-nephews, Carver and Jackson; and great-niece, Callie.
Shawn is also survived by a large extended family with many cousins whom he loved very much from West Virginia to Alaska, Stanley, Jonathan, Johanna, Joshua, Jacob, BJ, Johnboy, Aunt Judy and countless more. Close friends, Craig Hill, Kelvin Swaim, Ken Jackson, Jim Sands, Pug Shaffer, Bob Larango, Ronnie Vaughn, and many more.
He had incredible adventures fishing and hunting all over the country particularly in Alaska, Washington, and West Virginia.
To all those who are angry with him, he asked to pass along a message, "Bite me."
A celebration of Life will be held at 3 p.m. on Feb. 7, 2026, at Chatanika Lodge. Everyone is invited, please come with a story to tell, a picture to share and a dish for the meal.