Chapter Eternal: Richard G. “Dick” Evans Jr. ’55

Brother Richard G. “Dick” Evans Jr. ’55 passed away Aug. 25, 2022, in Savannah, Georgia. He was 89. A graduate of Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati, Dick joined the Air Force ROTC and Delta Tau Delta at Kenyon. He played football and was an accomplished lacrosse midfielder, co-captaining the team to an undefeated season his senior year. Dick’s father R. “Gale” Evans ’26 P’55 H’75, uncle Benjamin D. Evans ’25, and two other relatives led his path up to the Hill. Dick’s parents were married in the Kenyon College Chapel in November 1930.

After graduation, Dick began working at the Cincinnati Cordage and Paper Co., founded by the Evans family in 1892. Dick reported for active Air Force duty in 1956 and, within a year, was flying KC-97G refueling aircraft. While stationed in West Palm Beach, Florida, his flight school classmate, Ted Platt, introduced him to Nancy Taylor – whose sister Ted was dating. Soon the two Air Force friend became brothers-in-law, as they married the Taylor sisters. Dick flew refueling missions for B-47s and B-52s over Canada, Labrador and Greenland as part of the Eighth Air Force and the Strategic Air Command before returning to civilian life in 1959 after the birth of his first daughter, Pam.

Settling in Cincinnati, Dick rose to become executive vice president of Cordage Papers by 1976, helping grow the company from five to 13 loca­tions before retiring in 1992. In 1978, Dick granted a request from the College for 24,000 pounds of paper – three years’ worth – to print the Kenyon Review, a gift without which its revival might not have happened.

Dick retained his passion for flying, eventually bought a Beechcraft Bonanza, and often flew with Nancy to Mount Vernon’s airfield to attend the Kenyon volleyball games of their daughter, Barbara J. Evans ’87. After Dick retired, he and Nancy built a home in Savannah, pursued their love of golf and boating, and enjoyed frequent visits by family and friends. Dick is survived by Nancy and his daughters Pamela Barry, Lynn Huber and Barbara.

Courtesy of the Kenyon Alumni Magazine.