Celebrant Pam Meily Vetter


	Celebrating Life Everyone Has A Story...

Jeffrey McLain Evans was born in Long Beach to Patricia and Frederick Evans in 1946. Jeff had one brother, Ray, and two sisters, Julie and Donessa. His Grandma and Grandpa, whom he loved very much, raised him. During his childhood, Jeff was greatly influenced by his grandfather. A sports fanatic, he was captain of the basketball team in school. A successful golfer on the Millikan High School golf team, Jeff still holds records for golf at the school. In fact, he could have been a professional golfer. Jeff had talents as a golfer, bowler and softball player throughout his life. With a love of baseball, his favorite baseball team was the Dodgers and his favorite color was Dodger blue. He graduated from Millikan High School in Long Beach and not long after, the hardest part of his life was watching his grandfather die in his arms when he was only 20. It was something he carried with him for the rest of his days, but with strength, he found a way to move forward with his life.

Even though he met a little girl by the name of Shirlene at the age of four, they didn't start dating until many years later. The couple met at a dance and started dating around the age of 20. They were married in 1969 at the famous Little Chapel of the West in Las Vegas, Nevada. Shirlene wore a short white dress with a little veil. The wedding reception was held at Shirlene's mother's home. The couple loved to go dancing during those early years and enjoyed many famous concerts together including Queen, Van Morrison, and Jimi Hendrix.

In the years to come, Shirlene and Jeff were so happy to have two daughters: Shanna and Jessica. Jeff was a wonderful father. He was caring and sensitive. When he would put the girls to sleep at night, he'd put his hand over their foreheads in a comforting way to help them go to sleep. Shirlene and Jeff took the kids to the zoo, the park, Knotts Berry Farm, Disneyland, and bowling. They had many fun outings with the family. Jeff was also a joker with the girls and he liked to scare them in a fun way. Practical jokes made him laugh and he liked to see the girls smiling. With strong beliefs in God, the girls were raised Mormon with the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints.

Shanna grew up on a softball field, because her father played a lot of softball. He played positions at third base and shortstop on the Latter Day Saints team. He truly shared his love of sports with the girls. Both of the girls tried softball. Shanna played softball for a season and Jessica played for a season on a team with the Mormon Church. "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" was a song Jeff liked, as he enjoyed singing it during the 7th inning stretch at baseball games. He loved taking his kids to Dodger games. At the beginning of the game, he cried tears when he heard the National Anthem, "The Star Spangled Banner." He took Shanna to the Dodger World Series in 1986 to see Kirk Gibson hit a homerun. One of his favorite foods was the famous Dodger Dog. He always wore Dodger blue and his Dodger hat. With his great devotion to the Dodgers, Jeff joked, "I even bleed Dodger blue."

While Shirlene and Jeff grew apart and lived separately, they remained married and good friends for the next 30 years, as they raised the girls together as parents. Jeff always loved Shirlene's mother, Shirley, and remained a part of Shirlene's extended family as well.

When Jessica was around 12-years-old, he took her on a special camping trip to Utah with his friend Larry and Larry's son, Larry Jr. They camped in tents around Utah and caught a lot of trout while fishing. The group enjoyed an incredible river rafting adventure as well. Even though Jeff and Jessica were scared the whole time during the river rafting, they did it. While in Utah, Jeff took Jessica to see the Mormon Temples which was fascinating.

Professionally, Jeff worked as a Printer Operator at Rockwell for 30 years. He retired 10 years ago from Rockwell and became a security guard for the INS Department through Huse. He worked hard his entire life. He also enjoyed buying the best clothes at Nordstrom, such as Tommy Bahama, Tommy Hilfiger, and Ralph Loren. If the family could hold his farewell in the middle of Nordstrom in the cologne department, they would because he always wore the best cologne and smelled great. He wore the best shirts, best designer jeans and white and blue Nike tennis shoes. He liked looking dapper as a smart dresser.

He had many favorites in life and loved rock music. Jeff was a really cool dad. He took Shanna to a Journey concert, when she was 15-years-old. He also took her to a Go-Go's concert. He loved listening to KLOS for the classic rock music. His favorite performers included Bob Seger and Led Zeppelin. He was also a history buff who loved watching the History Channel. For Sports, he was a major Lakers fan and Dodgers super-fan. His favorite food was ribs at the Naples Ribs Company. His favorite beverage was Mountain Dew. He'd buy a big bottle of it and fill a glass with lots of ice and Mountain Dew. He had a talent for barbecuing as he cooked outside the pan. He was the best at making beef ribs.

Jeff loved Thanksgiving and Christmas and enjoyed celebrating birthdays with the family. He liked shopping at Luna on Second Street. Every Christmas he bought the most expensive gifts for his family at Luna. Stacey always wanted Jeff to get her name in the gift exchange so she could get a gift from Lunas.

As a grandfather, Jeff was incredible. When his grandchildren were born, he was thrilled. He loved playing with Haylee and Colin. His room was a shrine to his grandchildren with photos all over the room. He was so proud to see Haylee play softball last year and was looking forward to seeing Colin play this year. When he visited Shanna and Michael's home, Colin always asked Grandpa to watch "King Kong" with Jack Black. The family had it on TiVo and Jeff watched "King Kong" over and over again just to see Colin smile. For Haylee, he loved tickling her, especially tickling her knees just to see her giggle. Haylee loved it when Grandpa chased her around as well, just playing with her. Jeff's grandchildren were his pride and joy. Michael remembers Jeff loved talking about sports. They really had a great relationship as they connected on many levels. When he was in the hospital, Michael took him a pack of his favorite cigarettes and a bottle of Mountain Dew. It made him smile as he was so appreciative.

Jeff was still driving Shirlene's Jeep and he had a great friendship with her. He called his family regularly and only lived a few miles away. Most recently, Jeff was living with his sister-in-law Stacey and brother-in-law David. He was grateful for the company and welcoming home. Stacey, David and his nephew, Garrett, loved spending time watching TV programs with Jeff. Stacey will miss Jeff greeting her outside everyday when she got home from work. Jeff also loved the pet cats and the company of Cassie, the family's black and white Cocker Spaniel.

Jeff was on a spiritual journey. He was always religious and believed in God, but he and Jessica had been having spiritual conversations. As a result, he was opening up like a flower to his own beliefs. A couple of weeks ago, Jessica and Robert invited him to stay the night at their home. They took him out to dinner and he had the Crying Tiger, a spicy beef dish of Thai food. Hours later, he asked, "Was that really tiger I ate?" Jessica reassured him it was beef. They had a fun time. Then, Jessica spoke with him by phone last week and they ended the conversation with the words, "I love you." Jessica will miss her father's love the most. He was the most loving dad, always kissing and hugging the girls. You couldn't leave the house without getting a kiss, a hug and an "I love you." As a result, Jessica kisses her husband all the time knowing how important it is to show how much you care about family. To Jessica, he was kind of like Jesus because he took everyone's worries and burdens upon himself. She is grateful that her husband, Robert, was recently able to see the best of her father.

Shanna will miss everything about her father. He was a wonderful father who never yelled, never put her on restriction, and always told her how pretty she looked. Shanna and Michael will miss seeing him with his grandchildren. It made him so happy to have grandchildren. Michael will also miss their camaraderie about sports and their great conversations.

Jeff Evans will be remembered as an awesome father and grandfather, who was genuine, caring, sensitive, and loved his country. He was so proud of his daughters, Shanna and Jessica. He never said bad things about anyone and always looked at the positive side of every person. He often told his family, "I love you so much." He never let you hang up the phone without saying, "I love you." He'd give you a kiss on the cheek or the forehead and he was a hugger. If you ever were sick, he was one of the first one there by your side. He truly had a heart of gold. As Jeff believed in God and Heaven, he recently embraced more religious sentiments. He prayed in his own way every day. His family believes one day they will be reunited with him and they hope he is at peace.

In honor of his love of the Dodgers, Jeff will be cremated in his blue striped polo shirt, Dodger jersey, Dodger hat, blue jeans, double socks because his feet were always cold, and his white and blue Nike tennis sneakers.

Jeff is remembered by his entire family: wife Shirlene; daughter Shanna, her husband Michael and their children Haylee and Colin; daughter Jessica and her husband Robert; sister-in-law Stacey and brother-in-law David; nephews Garrett and Troy; niece Sarah; and brother-in-law Kim; good friend Vic; other friends and co-workers.