When Brother Evans strolled humbly to the entrance of Purdue University in 1948, he was introduced to a new life fraught with unforeseen challenges and experiences. When he left four years later, he walked out with his head held high, a new mature man ready to change the world. Once a very active student with immense academic achievement, Brother Evans still attributes much of his success to the time spent at the Chi Chapter. He is a testament to the maturity and leadership of the entire Chapter as well as its desire to instill similar traits in all its members.
As an undergraduate, Brother Evans was part of a freshman class that had grown tremendously from previous years as World War II veterans returned after their duty. The Purdue enrollment skyrocketed to over 14,000 and housing was among the many programs that were at a premium. Brother Evans was able to find residence in the basement of a house on Maple street, with seven other freshmen, where they slept in make-shift bunks. Through a friend of his father, who was a Kappa Sigma, he was rescued and pledged during rush. Brother Evans wrote that, “These veterans in our house were so mature and like fathers to me.”
Although he focused much of his energy on academics, Brother Evans was also very involved in intramural sports. He helped lead the Chi Chapter to multiple championships in basketball, from 1950 until 1952, as well as in swimming when he won backstroke, breaststroke and relay events. Outside of Kappa Sigma, Brother Evans also was a prominent member of the Purdue tennis team and was elected team captain in 1952. Adding to a long list of extracurricular activities, Brother Evans was a member of the University Choir. He and the Chi chapter performed “South Pacific” with the Chi Omega sorority at Music Hall.
As a professional, Brother Evans has seen great success since graduating with a Bachelor of Physical Education degree in 1952. Following graduation, he won a scholarship to attend the University of Pennsylvania where he earned a graduate degree in Physical Therapy. Later, after graduating from Indiana Medical School, he embarked on a prominent career in ophthalmology. Brother Evans owned and operated Evans Eye Clinic from 1965 until 1992. In 1978 he, his wife and youngest son spent two months in India, doing cataract surgery and teaching modern techniques to the Indian Ophthalmolgists.
He was also a clinical assistant professor of Ophthalmology at Indiana University School of Medicine from 1989 until 1992. As an alumnus of Purdue, Brother Evans has shown notable loyalty, evidenced by the Honorary Doctorate of Laws awarded to him in 1988 and his work as a member of the Purdue Alumni Foundation Board of Trustees from 1986 to 1992. Brother Evans served as Board President in 1992 and also as President of the Indiana-Purdue Calumet Campus Advisory Board from 1973 until 1988. During this time he was also a generous contributor to the Chi Chapter alumni association.
Brother Evans sometimes finds it hard to believe that he has come so far since his initial days at Purdue and the Chi Chapter. It was an experience that has truly shaped not only his college life, but also many years afterward. Brother Evans and wife Mary Lou, a Purdue and Kappa alumna and former Purdue cheerleader, have three sons, Daniel, Shaun, and Matthew, and are currently enjoying the retired life in both Colorado and Arizona.
