WALDEN, Evan Henry

TABBUT, WALDEN, CARMICHAEL, ROBERTS, GILBERT, BENSON, WHITE, BERRY, SMITH, ROBINSON, JOHNSON

Posted By: Sharon R Becker (email)
Date: 1/31/2016 at 13:17:22

Biography ~ Evan Henry Walden
Graceland University, Lamoni, Iowa

Evan Henry Walden, the son of Elisha "Henry" and Grace (Tabbut) Walden, was born on November 5, 1903, Frazee, Minnesota. He was the fifth child of a family of seven boys and two girls. When Evan was sixteen-years-old, the Walden family moved to Lamoni, Iowa.

Evan had a long association with expanding, Graceland physical campus, which began when he was a teenager who was hired for a summer work assignment on the construction of Briggs Hall. Evan enrolled at Graceland College where he studied engineering and was a member of the basketball team, playing as a guard and center. He received his A.A. degree in 1927. Upon accepting N. Ray Carmichael's 1929 invitiation, Evan returned to Graceland as superintendent of buildings and grounds, eventually becoming director of the college's physical plant. He remained in this position until 1952.

Evan's sister, Ruth Elizabeth (Walden) Roberts taught home economics at Graceland from 1940 until her retirement as professor emerita in 1967. She was sponsored the Home Economics Club and Crescents at the college.

In 1931, Evan and N. Ray Carmichael, the college's business manager, developed a landscaping program for the campus. The Alumni Association and the Patroness Society helped provide money and labor for the project.

In 1943, the college purchased a flock of sheep and hired a boy to herd them as they grazed through the campus to keep the lawns manicured. During the post-war school year of 1956-46, Evan assisted A. R. "Willie" Gilbert and Roy Benson in reviving Graceland's varsity sports competition. Evan served as a coach during those post-war years. Evan supervised the construction of Gunsolley Hall, the new $300,000 men's dormitory, which was built in 1950. Evan was also involved in the construction of Kelley Hall, the Memorial Student Center, the second Patroness Hall, and the 1950 Physical Plant.

Evan married Gertrude Louise White on June 26, 1928 in the Brick Church, Lamoni, Iowa. Gertrude was a voice and piano teacher.

In 1951 [end of 1952 by some accounts], the Waldens moved to Des Moines where Evan was the grounds and buildings supervisory at Drake University. In 1955, they moved to Oberlin, Ohio, where Evan held a position with Oberlin College, then with Grinnell College [Grinnell, Iowa] in 1958. He remained in Grinnell upon his retirement.

Evan and Gertrude were the parents of four children: Carolyn (Mrs. Alvin Berry, Stanford CN), Kenneth (Surry ME), William (Portland OR) and John (Riverside CA). Gertrude, the daughter of Ammoran "Otis" and Elizabeth "Louise" (Smith) White, was born on September 7, 1906, Lamoni, Iowa. Gertrude graduated from Graceland in 1927. She died of cancer in July of 1966, Grinnell, Iowa, at the age of 59 years.

Evan married second on February 2, 1974, Marshall County, Iowa, to Helen "Maxine" (Robinson) Johnson, the widow of Dale Everett Johnson. Maxine, also a piano teacher who taught music at Grinnel Newburg School System and was later the dean's secretary at Grinnell College Development office, was born on January 2, 1918, Des Moines, Iowa, and died on February 2, 2007, interment at Hazelwood Cemetery, Grinnell, Iowa.

Evan died on September 9, 2001, Grinnell, Iowa. Evan and Gertrude are interred at Rose Hill Cemetery, Lamoni, Iowa.

At the age of 92 years, Evan attended the 1996 homecoming ceremony during which Graceland's physical plant was named The Evan H. Walden Physical Plant in his honor. The physical plant contains the service building, heating plant, shop and chiller plant.

SOURCES:

Edwards, Paul M. "The Hilltop Where. . . .An Informal History of Graceland College." Pp. 69, 80, 96, 110. Venture Foundation. Lamoni IA. 1972.

Goehner, David. “The Graceland College Book of Knowledge: From A To Z.” p. 444. Herald House. Independence MO. 1997.

Gertrude L. (White) Walden obituary

Helen "Maxine" (Robinson) Johnson Walden obituary

Rose Hill Cemetery transcription

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, January of 2016

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