Christopher John Evans

1958 - 2020
"Sammy, come and read," he would shout every evening. The ritual started with the classics - Dickens, Twain, Dumas - and evolved into history. In this sacred father-son hour that continued until Sam went to college, Chris would transmit his most distinctive quality: a disciplined commitment to developing the mind. A natural athlete, Chris shared with his daughter Madeleine talents in basketball and golf; both also passionate fans who enjoyed NBA games and PGA matches together. Chris's trademark commitment to fitness meant 10-12 hours/week on the stairmaster and in a Hellenic fusion of intellectual and physical self-discipline he would work-out listening to audio books, maybe Frederick the Great's biography or Malcolm Gladwell's latest. What rises to the top for those who knew him: Chris was the most devoted, tender-hearted father. He blossomed in this role, one that rivaled his professional and intellectual virtuosity. Nothing gave him greater joy and peace than to see his daughter married last May to Charles Donner.

His friend Ralph recalls, "Chris was a man of science and math who became a man of letters." He had a universally admired intelligence and could be counted on in conversations "to prod and poke" at your assumptions, seamlessly supporting his views with references to a scientific discovery, a 16th century conflict in the Habsburg empire or some Roman emperor. A professor manqué, with every encounter he "enriched our minds and our thinking" with his often irreverent eloquence, making us shake our heads and laugh. He was "an inveterate iconoclast, no cows were sacred to Chris." He channeled his intellectual gifts into a much-respected blog, The Rabid Independent.

Chris grew up in Toronto with brothers, Peter and Rob. Their dear mother Sally still lives in Toronto; their father, Bill, died in 1999. Chris went to Cornell where he met many of the friends he remained closest to until the end of his life.

After managing money for a Canadian bank, Chris was hired by Salomon Brothers, his dream firm, in Manhattan. In 1987 he married his Canadian sweetheart, Debbie. They had an enviable, loving marriage and created a tightly knit family. Debbie was his ever-hopeful caregiver throughout his illness.

In 1999, they moved to Phoenix. Chris worked from home, allowing him to be immersed in the day-to-day rhythms of raising his children. Chris developed enduring friendships there. He was also very happy to be closer to his brother Peter. The family returned to the East Coast in 2013.

Chris's death from a merciless cancer on January 13 at Greenwich Hospital was devastating, but we remember the elegant intensity with which he lived, worked and loved. He was effortlessly generous and is remembered as having guided and supported many colleagues in their careers.

Chris packed the accomplishments, experiences and friendships of several lives into his far too brief 61 years. The sorrow of such a loss is immense. The enduring memory of his originality, love and friendship will steadily - if incompletely - heal the broken hearts of those who loved him.