Evan was born on September 2, 1937 in Detroit, Michigan to Pete and Catherine Galanes. He had an older brother, George, who preceded him in death. Evan’s family moved to California in 1945.
Evan was a fantastic athlete who was the quarterback captain of the football team, All-City and All-League and Most Valuable Player on the baseball team in 1955. He also played basketball and was the only four-year Letterman in the various sports at Eagle Rock High School. While at Eagle Rock he played against Robert Redford and Don Drysdale.
Evan’s favorite pastimes were horse racing, going to Vegas and Dodger games and gambling at various local casinos. He was a lifelong fan of USC’s Trojans (especially Traveler) and the Detroit Tigers but the Dodgers eventually became his number one team. He and Susie played tennis for many years and later enjoyed golfing together. In the 1980s Evan and his friends from high school formed the Eagle Stable owned five thoroughbred racehorses and ran them at Santa Anita, Del Mar,Bay Meadows and Los Alamitos.
Following graduation, he attended Glendale College, where he continued playing baseball with dreams of becoming a professional baseball player or a coach. He also attended Pasadena City College and transferred to San Bernardino College when his family bought a resort there. He worked as a bartender in various hotels and bars while attending college and served as the bartender in his parents’ resort and later at the Coconut Grove where he saw many shows of the biggest stars of the time who performed there. He also played on the Hollywood All-Stars and the LAPD baseball teams.
Evan joined the United States Army and ended up serving in the National Guard, receiving Honorable Discharges from both.
He joined the LAPD and graduated from the academy on October 23, 1961. After working Hollywood and Central Divisions, he became Dave Dorman’s partner - Susie’s brother-in-law - at Northeast Division. He met Susie a few months later when she was 16 and he was 24. Evan and Susie married in Las Vegas on June 19, 1965 when she was 19 and he was 27. They bought their first home in La Crescenta that September and welcomed their first daughter, Lisa Marie, the next year. She was joined by her sister, Lora Lee, the following year. Their family was now complete. They lived in La Crescenta for nine years and moved into their brand-new home in Northridge in 1974 where they remained for the next 45 years. Evan worked two and three jobs so Susie could be a full-time mom for the first twelve years.
Evan retired from the LAPD in 1975 and later became an insurance agent specializing in police and fire long-term disability policies. He traveled with his family throughout the state and was the top agent in the state after signing many police and fire departments. The departments eventually went self-insured so Evan turned to writing homeowners’ and auto policies. He also worked Corporate Security at Hertz and Universal Studios in the evenings.
Lisa and Lori found the loves of their lives, Ben McCarter and Barry Turbow, and decided to get married the same year 1998 - seven months apart. It was a whirlwind year for the whole family and one of the happiest years of their lives. Evan and Susie inherited their first granddaughter, Maegan, when Ben brought her into the family at four years old. The following year, Lisa and Ben welcomed their first son, Daniel. The next year, Lori and Barry gave them another grandson, Dylan. Christopher Evan came into the McCarter family the following year, and Payton completed the family the next year. So, in five short years, Evan and Susie gained two great sons-in-law and five wonderful grandchildren. Evan loved nothing more than getting together with his family and loved to party with them. He was the life of every party and lit up the room just walking into it. He loved his country, his friends, and most of all, his family.
Evan was an outgoing, lovable and generous man who loved his family deeply, loved to laugh and have a good time, loved his friends unconditionally, and loved and lived life to the fullest every day of his life. He prayed for his family’s health and happiness every day. He faced the cancer diagnosis with strength and determination to fight for a few more years for his family, the same way he fought to overcome the paralysis he had suffered in 2013. When he finally walked again, when he had been told there was no hope, then he felt he could beat this too. His attitude, strength and determination inspired us all. We know that he will be missed by everyone who knew him, but his family now has an empty space that only “Papou” could fill. They know that he is their special angel who will always watch over them and be with them for every event in the rest of their lives.
Evan is survived by his loving wife Susie of 54 years, their daughters, Lisa and Lori, two fantastic sons-in-law, Ben and Barry, and five wonderful grandchildren, Maegan, Daniel, Dylan, Christopher Evan and Payton. He has left a legacy of love and family that will never leave them.
A celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, May 18, 2019, at 2:00 p.m. at Pierce Bros. Valley Oaks-Griffin Memorial Park, Mortuary and Crematory, 5600 Lindero Canyon Road, Westlake Village, California 91362. A reception will follow.
In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations be made to City of Hope Early Pancreatic Cancer Detection Project using this link. https://ourhope.cityofhope.org/evangalanes
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