![]() The biggest thrill of his research was finding the 250 year old Evans ancestral home in Wales, where he and Olivia met the current owners who gave them a tour and had dinner together. His genealogical research included countless visits to libraries, churches, and cemeteries in America, Wales, England, and Scotland. He completed the “Landrum-Boutwell Family History” in 2002 which traced Olivia’s paternal ancestry to John and Jane Landrum who immigrated from Scotland to Rappahannock County, VA in 1688 and, her maternal ancestry to Lioney and Mary Boutwell who were married in Onslow County, NC in 1752 and were probably second or third generation immigrants from England. Olivia then convinced him to research and write a book about her family. He traced his maternal ancestry back to Thomas Minor who immigrated from Somerset County, England to Salem MA in 1629. This book traced his paternal family tree back to Richard and Hannah Evans, who brought their eleven children from Kerry Parish, Wales, to Wisconsin in 1845, finally settling in Galena, IL. Walter enjoyed doing genealogical research and wrote a book on his family, “Evans-Miner Family History” in 1997. Although they enjoyed all of their trips, the Holy Land Trip with their church group was the one that Walter and Olivia talked about with great passion as they were excited to see so many places that they had read about in the Bible their entire lives. He and Olivia travelled throughout each of 50 United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the Holy Land where they visited Bethlehem, the Sea of Galilee and Jerusalem. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church as an Usher, Property Committee member, and “Hard Hat” making repairs at the Church. Walter was a Sunday School teacher, Youth group supervisor, Deacon and Elder at Gentilly Presbyterian Church, and later volunteered at St. He and Olivia were active in the Presbyterian Church their entire adult lives. ![]() After that he worked as a maintenance engineer at the Tenneco Oil Refinery (later acquired by Mobil Oil) in Chalmette, LA, retiring from that position in 1993. He then worked for Chrysler at the NASA Michoud Facility in New Orleans from 1963 to 1969 helping to build the Saturn V Boosters for the Apollo Space Program. Walter worked as an engineer for Boeing in Wichita, KS. They had one daughter, Janet Patrice, and two sons, Walter James and Kenneth Randall. They enjoyed 56 years of marriage and Walter was at Olivia’s side until her death in 2010. There he met Olivia Landrum, they began dating, fell in love, and were then married on April 3, 1954, at the Good Hope Baptist Church outside Ovett. More importantly, while stationed in Pensacola, he traveled with a Navy buddy to help repair a barn belonging to that friend’s father in Ovett MS. ![]() where he discovered the wonders of Santa Rosa Island, which became his favorite vacation spot for decades. He served in the US Navy from 1950 to 1954 and was stationed primarily in Pensacola, FL. He attended the University of Wichita (now Wichita State University) both before and after his days in the Navy. ![]() He graduated from Plainview High School in 1947. He had four older sisters, Kathleen, Thelma, Donna Lee and Laura. Walter was born on July 12, 1929, in Stockton, KS, to Walter and Hazel Evans. Walter Evans, Jr., of Metairie, LA, died Friday, April 3, 2020, at Lake Villa House in Metairie, LA, after a prolonged illness at the age of 90.
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