Retired Executive, Music Student Thomas Evans Dies
Thomas L. Evans, retired corporate officer of one of the world’s leading astro-optical manufacturers, died this month at the age of 68.
Evans died of a heart attack on Sept. 14 while on his way to sing at a concert at Golden West College in Huntington Beach. He had been pursuing a music degree at Cal State Fullerton at the time of his death.
Born in Queens Village, New York, Evans served in the Marine Corps in the South Pacific during World War II.
After the war, Evans earned an engineering degree from the University of Michigan and later earned his law degree from Brooklyn Law School. He was a member of the Connecticut Bar and the Federal Bar for the District of Connecticut.
For 10 years, Evans worked for the electronics firm of Dorn & Margolin, leaving as vice president in 1964. He then joined the astro-optical firm of Perkin Elmer in Connecticut. The firm transferred the longtime East Coast resident to Southern California in the 1960s. He retired as vice president and general manager of the firm’s West Coast division in 1988.
Family members said Evans spent his last weekend body surfing in Corona del Mar with a 9-year-old friend whose father had been killed in a car accident.
Evans is survived by his wife of 31 years, Helen of Anaheim; sons Thomas, Christopher and James; daughter Elizabeth; brothers Robert and John, and two grandchildren. His first wife was Irene Cobb, who died in 1960.
