Robert LeRoy Evans

Robert "Bob" LeRoy Evans went to be with the Lord on September 16, 2021. He was born on December 28, 1932 in the schoolhouse in which his father taught in Wainwright, Alaska. His parents, Benjamin and Carrie Takomek Evans, named him Bob Supluruk Evans.

Bob proudly served his country in the United States Air Force who gave him the name Robert LeRoy Evans. After serving for 22 years, he retired as a Master Sergeant in 1974. He attended the University of Maryland where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a Minor in English. He went on to receive his Masters of Arts in Education from Oklahoma City University and taught Elementary School in the Mid-Del school system and retired July 1, 1988. Because he couldn't slow down, he then went to work for the Oklahoma Department of Veteran’s Affairs, and retired on February 1, 1999.

Bob loved his wife, Aiko Imazeki Evans. They married on August 13, 1956 and were together for 58 years. Together, they had three children, Lori, Kimi, and June.

He was a dedicated member of the Bryant Avenue Baptist Church for many years, and enjoyed participating in the choir. His love for Jesus Christ inspired him through every aspect of his life.

Bob enjoyed singing around the house, in the shower, and in the church choir. He was an avid reader of good authors and maintained this even in the last days of his life. He loved to work the daily crossword puzzle, which kept his mind sharp and his vocabulary vast. He loved yard work and in his younger years we would find him in the yard diligently caring for it. He enjoyed meeting people and loved traveling.

Bob enjoyed hearing the results of ancestral research on his family. First, and foremost, he cherished the reconnection with his large family in the North Slope of Alaska, (Barrow, Wainwright and Fairbanks). He regaled his daughters with stories of his childhood and his recall of ancestors having undertaken “The Oregon Trail”.

This was confirmed through the publication, “History of the Pacific Northwest: Oregon and Washington; Embracing an Account of the Original Discoveries on the Pacific Coast of North America,” pp 621-622, naming his grandfather, Jacob Long as an original pioneer to settle in Elgin, Oregon.

Bob’s love for service to his country was in alignment with his forefathers: Ludwig Long (3rd generation American) birth ca. 1748 and death April 1829 in Franklin County, Pennsylvania is listed in the state militia records having served in 1777 as Lodowick Long, Private, Cumberland county, militia, 1st BA 9th Co., Class 3rd, Commander: Capt. Noah Abraham under Colonel James Dunlop in the Revolutionary War.

Somewhere in the research is also evidence of an ancestor serving in the Civil War for the North.

Bob proudly served in the United States Air Force working in Mobile Communications, serving in the intelligence sector in decoding and sending coded messages.

Bob is preceded in death by his parents Benjamin Franklin Evans and Carrie Takomek Evans; his wife, Aiko Imazeki Evans; his baby brother, Conrad Evans; his sister, Gladys Evans Wayman; and his precious grandson, Andrew Tyler Wilson.

He is survived by his children, Lori Evans-Wilson (husband James), Kimi Evans (husband Frank Turner), and June Day, and grandchildren, Joshua Wilson, Michael Barnes (wife Amber), Morgan Barnes (fiancé Valerie Garner), Stephanie Barnes (husband Willis Bates), and Chelsea Day (husband Nathan D’Andrea); 11 great-grandchildren (Emma and Brenden Barnes; Adaleigh, Javin and Reuger, Alixandria Berchem, Liam, Lyric and Morgan, Jr. Barnes; Danica Burgdoff, Remi Brisolara) and a host of other family and friends.

Bob will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

Funeral services for Bob will be held at 3:00 PM, Thursday, September 23, 2021 at Bryant Avenue Baptist Church in Oklahoma City.