Craig Hughes Evans

Craig was born on July 3, 1959, in New Brighton, Pennsylvania to Mahlon and Roberta Evans. He was Mom’s little firecracker and the youngest of four boys. He attended Blackhawk High School in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, where he played trombone in the High School band and swam on the High School swim team. He held the record for the fastest 50- and 100-yard freestyle for over 20 years. He always said that his secret to success was to not breathe until he hit the wall.

Growing up he held various jobs as the local paperboy, cutting grass for the neighbors, working at the steel mill and paint store, and as a “Barn Boy” doing various maintenance work at Camp Lambec (a Presbyterian Church Camp). He sang in the church choir and worked at Steed Audio where he learned how to mix music and set up concerts. He was instrumental in setting up a large music arts festival in downtown Pittsburgh and was called back to Ohio for numerous years to set up and run the audio and video portion of the country music festival, Jamboree in the Hills.

After graduating from Blackhawk High School in 1977, he attended Westminster College in Pennsylvania before transferring to State University of New York at Fredonia where he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Communication/Media. After college, he continued to work at Steed Audio while he began his “after graduation” job search. It was during this search, that he came across a job advertisement for the University of Texas in San Antonio (UTSA), which was in the city where his eldest brother lived at the time. The boss just happened to be from western Pennsylvania and offered him the job. He spent 27 years at UTSA until he retired on Aug 31, 2012, as Executive Director of Communications and Creative Services.

Following his move to San Antonio, he met the love of his life, Kathy Pope. They were introduced by his sister-in-law, who Kathy worked with, and first met at the Midnight Rodeo Dance Hall (of course his brother had to approve also). They subsequently married at the Little Church of La Villita on March 7, 1987, and raised two fabulous children, eventually settling in Bulverde, Texas. With Craig’s talent of woodworking and extraordinary skill in fixing broken things, Craig and Kathy transformed their home. Craig converted the back of his garage into an elaborate workshop where he perfected the talents that his Dad passed down to him. One day as he was scrounging for wood at a local business, the owner asked if he would be interested in building some tables for him. This then resulted in his new passion (and friendship) to build large wooden tables and other items for The Vintage Barn and family members. Along with woodworking, his other passions included guitar playing, golfing, going to the deer lease, dove hunting, the beach, his dogs, and his family. He loved being “Pappie” to his adorable granddaughters and enjoyed the memories he made with them.

Craig is survived by his mother, Roberta Evans; his loving and supportive wife of 37 years, Kathy Evans; daughter, Amanda (Logan) Jones; son, Matthew (Lauren) Evans; grandchildren, Addison Jones, Emma Jones, Callie Jones and a grandson expected in September; brothers, Rick (Lucy) Evans, Jeff (Carol) Evans and Mark (Mary Beth) Evans; brother- and sister-in-law Robert (Donna) Pope; and numerous nieces, nephews, close family friends and neighbors.

CELEBRATION OF LIFE

SATURDAY, JUNE 29, 202411:00 A.M.

PORTER LORING MORTUARY NORTH,2102 NORTH LOOP 1604 EAST,

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS 78232.

***Please wear your favorite denim in honor of Craig***

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Craig Evans Memorial Workshop Fund.

Pastor Philip Schroeder will officiate.

To view the service for Craig Hughes Evans, please click the following link: https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/mf-fwp/pl_20240629-evans.html