Mark Alan Evans

September 8, 1962 - June 27, 2020

Mark Alan Evans died of pancreatic cancer on June 27, 2020, in Payson, Utah, surrounded by his wife Nadine and many loved ones. Due to Covid restrictions, we were unable to celebrate Mark’s life with all his friends. At your request, included below are links to the talks given at his funeral. Mark made his auspicious debut on September 8, 1962 at Presbyterian Hospital in Denver, Colorado. He may have been 1 of 305,639 born that day, and the 7th of 8 children born to Edwin and Mildred Evans, but he would say he was always #1 in our hearts. He was a very spirited boy who loved to play, ride bikes, and ride his father’s horses. He had many comedic inspirations such as Boys’ Life magazine, Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy, and the Smothers’ Brothers, and would regale his family with corny jokes. With icons like these, it’s no wonder that Mark ended up with such a colorful sense of humor. On occasion, his light-hearted mischief was unappreciated, and his mother would chase him around the house threatening him with a “Heat the Seat” paddle. He learned a valuable lesson - run fast. Despite his antics, Mark’s mother must have loved him anyway, since she always made his dessert-of-choice, Red Velvet Cake, for his birthday. Mark’s favorite holidays were always Halloween and Christmas, which he celebrated with over-the-top decorations and festivities. He delighted in scaring the wits out of his family during Ghost in the Graveyard. Mark attended elementary schools in Cody, WY and Dunwoody, GA. He picked up the clarinet in elementary school and continued to play through high school in Boise, ID. He graduated from Capital High in 1980 and showed up his two brothers by earning an Eagle Scout Award. He served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Santiago, Chile. He attended Brigham Young University in Provo, UT, where he met his new best friend and brother, Michael Carr. They delighted their peers with clever shenanigans and intellectual antics, including at the Intramural College Bowl where they were champions not once, but twice. “The Y” was sad to see him go when he graduated with a degree in Computer Science in 1987. Mark married Michelle Gold in 1986 and they had two children, James Alan and Tanya Lynn. They later divorced and he spent 8 years fine tuning bachelorhood. He knew a good deal when he saw one though, and traded that in to marry Nadine Budd Millar in the Salt Lake City LDS temple on November 20, 1998. He was delighted to gain another son, Rich Millar, in the process. In 2002, Mark and Nadine embarked on another great adventure when they traveled to Ukraine and enlarged their family and love by adopting Daniel, Benjamin, and Nadia. Mark was a dedicated family man and he, Nadine, and the children had many adventures over the years (ask us about how he “ran the blockade” in Nevada, and how we had bison following us with their heads right in our truck in Yellowstone)! He was particularly fond of roughing it: Setting up camp in BLM land, digging a loo, and just exploring. The great outdoors was energizing to him, and he was never without his “adventure hat,” a gift from Nadine. Some of his favorite places were Arches National Park and Goblin Valley. When watching “Galaxy Quest,” his “whispered” exclamation, “That’s Goblin Valley!!!” must have been clearly heard by all those in the movie theater. Mark was a Renaissance man with an enthusiasm for learning and many hobbies and interests. He loved astronomy and regaled us with the wonderful myths of the constellations. He was seriously miffed that bad eyesight prevented him from being an astronaut. We know he is loving being able to explore the galaxies of the universe now that he isn’t constrained to Earth. His imagination knew no bounds. He wrote and enjoyed hosting themed mystery parties. As a fan of cooking shows, he loved experimenting in the kitchen and introduced many new and exciting dishes to the family. He (kind of) didn't mind if we gave him a thumbs down and deep-sixed a recipe. Exploring gardens like Butchart in Canada and those of the Castles in Europe brought him great joy. He was working on trying to turn his yard into a mini version of these (which Nadine loves, but finds exhausting!). He dabbled in stained glass art, and killed it at games like Trivial Pursuit, Monopoly, various D&D quests, and ping-pong. He was a lover of Dr. Who, Star Trek, and shows such as Stargate and Warehouse 13, and enjoyed showing off his vast trivial knowledge, such as Captain Kirk’s serial number. He declared, "Sure I can remember trivia, but I can't remember where I parked my car!" A true statement. He had a massive vocabulary and others would tease him, “not to say bad things like that.” It miffed him that he was rarely able to beat Nadine at Scrabble or chess. She thought he threw the games but he said “scouts honor” he did not! During down times, he was never happier than when he was watching cheesy comedies like “Gilligan’s Island” and classic Scooby-Doo cartoons, dumb monster movies like “Creature From the Black Lagoon” and “The Thing”, and listening to old radio detective shows like “Sam Spade” and “Nero Wolfe.” Mark was a highly valued employee for several companies, including Dynix Library Systems, Think Subscription, and Nature’s Sunshine Products. He traveled extensively internationally for all three companies, and was respected and a beloved friend to many. One example was his friend Masa and wife who folded one thousand origami cranes into a large beautiful wall hanging when Mark became ill, and shipped it from Japan. Mark had a deep and abiding testimony of the living Christ and served in many positions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served in several bishoprics, Young Men and Sunday School presidencies, but his biggest love was having a blast with the scouts and young men. Many eternal friendships were forged and adventures had in various camping and spiritual endeavors. One thing he tried to teach the young men was to make their prayers a personal conversation with their Heavenly Father and to avoid “the repetitive standard prayers we’ve heard a thousand times.” Mark was a true warrior and kicked his Stage 4 pancreatic cancer’s butt by putting up with 49 brutal chemos over 28 months. He battled so hard in order to spend as much time with the family as he could, and we crammed in as many of his bucket list trips as he could handle. He hated using a wheelchair, but gratefully acknowledged it allowed him to do more. He is survived by his beloved wife Nadine, children Rich (Jessica) Millar, James (fiancé Britny) Evans, Tanya (Jack) Treseler, Daniel, Benjamin & Nadia Evans, his siblings Karen Stevens, Howard (Jeannie), Debbie (Scott’s widow), Diane (David) Kimball, and Pamela (Todd) Brown, his five grandchildren, many loved in-laws (who will never forget and always be amused by his portrayal of a kangaroo during “Guesstures”), and many nieces & nephews. We know his parents Mildred & Edwin, brother Scott, sisters Laurie & Marjorie, and in-laws Minnie & Eric Budd and Brenda (John) Alderson have joyfully welcomed him to their Heavenly home. We will miss our beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, and friend, but we know he is in the arms of our Heavenly Father and we will be with him again. Many thanks to all who have supported us in so many ways through this extended trial. Your love and shared memories have really sustained us. Doctor Brandt Esplin and his oncology team were amazing for keeping Mark with us for so long and for working so hard to mitigate the horrors of chemo. We are grateful to Utah Valley Mortuary for caring for him so lovingly at the end. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, there was a funeral for the family and interment in the Logan City Cemetery. At your request links to the talks given at Mark’s funeral are in the photos and videos menu selection above. The first link has short memories from all his children: Ben, Nadia, Tanya, James, Daniel & Richard. Also included are thoughts from his best friend and brother, Michael Carr. (Because of COVID-19, the Coast Guard denied Mikus permission to travel to the funeral.) James then played “If you Could Hie to Kolob” at Mark’s request. (Sorry Ben & Nadia are hard to hear, but it gets better after that.) The second link has some memories compiled by Mark’s elder brother Howard. To honor Mark’s memory, please consider donating to Shriners Hospital where his daughter Nadia was treated. It is an organization he loved. If they ask for an email, you can use [email protected]