Gretchen N. Evans

Gretchen N. Diez was born on November 26, 1929 to William and Marguerite Diez in Balboa, Panama Canal Zone. Her father was a long-time employee of the Panama Canal Company, and she grew up with a front-row seat to history in the years before and during World War II. She saw President Franklin Roosevelt when he inspected the Panama Canal in 1934. One of her most vivid childhood memories was of a family trip to see the 1939-40 New York World's Fair. In 1945, Gretchen saw the badly damaged USS Franklin pass through the locks, and was on board the USS Missouri as it passed through the canal on its way from the surrender in Tokyo Bay to a Navy Day review in New York City. After the war, she met Joe DiMaggio when the New York Yankees visited the Canal Zone in 1946.

She graduated from Balboa High School in 1947, and attended Canal Zone Junior College for two years before transferring to San Diego State College, where she majored in English. After graduating in 1952, she taught elementary school in Escondido. She received a Master's degree from Eastman School of Music at University of Rochester in 1959. While studying at Eastman, she also taught in Rochester schools, where she experienced people and events like Elvis and Sputnik though the eyes of her students. Upon completion of her studies at Eastman, she returned to San Diego, and taught at Southwest Junior High School from 1959 to 1961.

In 1960, Louise and Bill Nelson introduced her to David M. Evans, and Gretchen and Dave were married at St Peter's Episcopal Church in Del Mar on July 30th of that year. They had three children, and in 1962 moved into the house in Chula Vista where they were to live for more than fifty-three years. Many will remember Gretchen best as the pianist for the Rosebank Elementary School Chorus, which she accompanied for every program between 1966 and 1976. After the new Chula Vista Public Library was dedicated in 1976, she organized and directed a monthly concert series there that ran for twenty years. During those years she also gave piano lessons in her home for many students, and was active in the Music Teachers Association Certificate of Merit program.

She filled her retirement years with travel, activities – usually musical – with friends, and especially spending time with grandchildren. She passed away on January 25, 2018 at the age of 88, and is preceded in death by her husband Dave, her cousin Nina, and her beloved brother Bill. She is survived by her cousin Mary, her sister-in-law Rosemary, her three children and their spouses, and her six grandchildren. Her family is grateful for the care she received at Villa Bonita, where she spent the last two years of her life. Those wishing to honor Gretchen’s memory may do so by donating to the Friends of the Chula Vista Library, the Music Teachers’ Association of California, and the Living Coast Discovery Center.