Obituary of Christopher James Evans

“It is not the length of life, but the depth of life.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson Christopher James Evans, 67, passed away on July 6th at the Hilton Head Hospital, Hilton Head, South Carolina surrounded by his loving family. Chris was born in Augusta, Georgia to Gailya Watkins and James Cove Evans. He grew up with two sisters and a house filled with music. His mother taught piano lessons and served as the organist and choir director of their church, leading him to a love of music and hymns at an early age. His father, a WWII flight engineer, railroad engineer, and carpenter, taught Chris to love fixing things and solving problems. Chris graduated from the Academy of Richmond County in 1969 and Georgia Southern University in 1973 with a degree in Industrial Engineering. While at Georgia Southern, he started volunteering and was recognized with the Outstanding Leadership/Unselfish Service Award. At Southern he also met the love of his life, Pam Ansley. They were married on September 7, 1974 and had two daughters, Laura Elizabeth and Jennifer Ansley. Chris began his career as an apparel manufacturing engineer for the Thompson Company and shortly afterwards moved to the Atlanta area as an industrial engineer for several other apparel companies including Playtex, Carters Children’s Apparel, and Juliara before starting a consulting business which gave him the flexibility to spend more time with his girls during their formative years. In March 2005, he joined the River Pines Golf Course in Johns Creek as a ranger where he enjoyed talking and laughing with his coworkers and golfers alike. His love of music continued into adulthood. Chris loved singing hymns and playing The Entertainer on the piano. Chris also had a passion for sailing, golf, and Georgia Tech football. An avid Tech fan, he prided himself on wearing or displaying the Georgia Tech logo wherever he could – in addition to the typical accoutrements, he decked out everything from his truck and golf clubs down to his shoes. Chris passed his passions to his daughters: with Laura, he solved logic puzzles and played with Erector sets, leading her to a career in engineering; with Ansley, he watched Law and Order and engaged in, as friends know, vigorous debate, leading her to a career in the law. He loved to make people laugh and would share “Chris stories” with new and old acquaintances alike. He enjoyed spending time at his cabin on Lake Oconee and always giving his time and resources to help others. His life brought much joy to his family and friends. Survivors include his wife, Pamela Ansley Evans, daughters, Laura Evans Hartley and husband, Matt, of Madison, Mississippi and J. Ansley Evans Sluss and husband, Bryan, of Atlanta, Georgia. He also leaves behind his sisters, Gail Evans Patty and husband, George Patty, and Sheri Evans, brother in law, Frederick W. Ansley and wife, Carol Ansley, and nieces and nephews, Jennifer Evans, Gabby and Aidan Leonard, Frederick Ansley Jr. of Augusta, Georgia, Kristi McCabe Hunt and husband, Mark, of Alpharetta, Georgia, and Jack McCabe and wife, Michelle, of Roswell, Georgia. Preceding him in death were his parents, Gailya Watkins and James Cove Evans, and his nephews, Louis Edward Laurence, Jr. and Michael Casey Leonard. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 12:00 PM on Saturday, July 14 at the Mill Kitchen Restaurant, 590 Mimosa Boulevard, Roswell, GA in keeping with his wishes for a casual reunion. Please bring a short story about Chris to share with the family, if you feel so inclined. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to The First Tee of Atlanta (https://www.thefirstteeatlanta.org/), a youth development organization introducing the game of golf and its inherent values to young people, the Alzheimer’s Foundation (https://alzfdn.org/), or Roswell First Baptist Church (http://fbroswell.org/).