David R. Evans
EVANS, HOXIE, MCNEIL, BRIGSON, RAVINA, MCKELVEY, GRUNDMEIER
Posted By: Sarah Fletcher (email)
Date: 10/14/2019 at 08:23:34
David R. Evans, 82, died Friday, August 23, at Crestview Specialty Care in West Branch from complications of Alzheimer’s.
David was born January 8, 1937, in Mankato, MN, the son of David R. Evans, Sr. and Ruth Hoxie Evans. He spent four years in the U.S. Navy playing trumpet with the Navy Bands. On June 18, 1966, he married Kerry McNeil in Slayton, MN. He earned a B.S. from Mankato State and an M.A. in Music Theory and Composition also from Mankato State, writing a “Classical Symphony for Band” for his thesis requirement. His D.M.A. in Choral Music was completed at the University of Colorado.
David worked as a music teacher for his whole career, teaching students of all ages from kindergarten through college in public schools in Minnesota, Colorado, and Iowa; a high school boarding school in Massachusetts; Central Oregon Community College in Bend, OR; and William Penn College in Oskaloosa, Iowa. After teaching 22 years at the college level, he spent his last teaching years working with elementary students in Iowa City. He loved helping everyone enjoy music! Along the way he directed the music for over 40 high school, college, and community musical theater productions including the West Coast premier of Scott Joplin’s “Treemonisha.” He was active in the Iowa Choral Director’s Association, winning their composition competitions at least four times. He was a lifetime member of the American Choral Director’s Association and attended their conventions all over the country.
David would be the first to tell you he had a wonderful life—a loving family and good friends, a profession he loved, and a chance to travel and give back to his community in meaningful ways. It was totally type-casting when he was selected to play Harold Hill in “The Music Man” in Bend! He represented William Penn College in an exchange to a Korean college, lecturing and performing piano concerts of Scott Joplin music. He was thrilled to take his William Penn Choir to perform at a festival in Cardiff, Wales. So many good times making music!
David also liked to cross country ski, hike, camp, canoe, fly small airplanes, and ride his bicycle across Iowa with RAGBRAI. He was always active in church, conducting the choir and playing the organ in both Bend and Oskaloosa, singing in the choir and taking on many tasks at New Song Episcopal Church in Iowa City. In retirement, he studied both French and Spanish and volunteered at local elementary schools. He volunteered over 500 hours with the Music Therapy team at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics, playing piano in public places and working with individuals on the med psych ward. He also volunteered at Hope Lodge; organized a traditional jazz group, Spontaneous Combustion; played trumpet with the New Horizons Band at the Senior Center; and cheered on the Hawkeye men’s basketball team. He and Kerry traveled widely in this country, camping in many national parks and rafting through the Grand Canyon. They visited Spain, Mayan Ruins in Central America, England, mysterious stone circles in the Orkneys, Italy, and New Zealand, but he was especially happy to travel to Chamonix in France where his father had served in WWI. So many adventures!
Even with losses due to Alzheimer’s Disease, he was always happy to see people, and his enthusiasm for life was evident when he’d say, “Let’s do it!” “Gangbusters!” “Life is a Gas!”
David was never happier than when he was with his family. They include his wife, Kerry; their son, Peter Evans, his wife Gina of Ankeny, Iowa, and their children, Maya and Jack; their daughter, Jenni Evans Brigson, and her husband, Matt, of Holmen, Wisconsin, and their son, Charlie; Christian Ravina, a Spanish exchange student who lived with the Evanses in Oskaloosa and became part of their family; a sister, Kay McKelvey of Bay Village, OH, and many dear cousins, in-laws, nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, an infant sister, and older sister, Shirley Grundmeier, two brothers-in-law, and a nephew.
David’s family is grateful for the care he received at Legacy Gardens and Crestview.
The family invites you to join them for the visitation, a Celebration of David’s Life, at Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service, 605 Kirkwood Avenue, Iowa City, from 4-7 pm on Friday, September 27, 2019, for live jazz, libations, and snacks! We will share a worship service of music, prayers, and remembrances on Saturday, September 28, at 2:00 pm at the Unitarian Universalist Society, 2355 Oakdale Road, Coralville, with dessert to follow. Be warned that September 28 is a home Hawkeye football game which can cause traffic congestion.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the University of Iowa Foundation for the Music Therapy program, New Song Episcopal Church, the New Horizons Band at the Senior Center, or the Alzheimer’s Association.
Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service
Johnson Obituaries maintained by Cindy Booth Maher.
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