Kathryn Evans, 85

Former Pacific Palisades resident Kathryn ‘Katie’ Ferguson Evans died on April 15 at Val Verde Retirement Community in Santa Barbara after a lengthy illness. She was 85. Born on July 9, 1922, Katie lived in Los Angeles most of her adult life. She graduated from Los Angeles High School and attended UCLA, where she was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. Katie left UCLA to work in defense plants in World War II. She married James Graff Evans, Sr., in 1946. Katie and Jim moved to a home in the Palisades in 1968 and lived here until 1980. During that time, three of their children graduated from Palisades High: Cathy in 1969, Jim, Jr. in 1970 and Pat in 1975. Katie was a vocal supporter of her children’s activities, including baseball at the Palisades Recreation Center and many teams at Palisades High. She also was an active member of All Saints Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills and served as one of the first female vestry members. After leaving the Palisades, Katie and Jim built a house on the beach in Oxnard on Silverstrand Beach before moving to Santa Barbara in 1995. Jim, who had been an insurance agent in Los Angeles, working for Kindler, Laucci & Day, died in 2000. Katie was a “cheerleader” of life. She was a bright light who loved her family and friends with a joyous heart. In addition to her husband, she was predeceased by her son, James Graff Evans, Jr., who died in 2006. She is survived by her children, Cathy Howard (husband Ted) of Mentone, Alabama, and Pat Evans (wife Kathleen) of Madison, New Jersey; her daughter-in-law Julie Evans of Santa Barbara; grandchildren Erin, Lindsay, Peter and Trey Evans and Scott, Mary Virginia and Christopher Wehrenberg; and great-grandchildren Kyler and Ash Wehrenberg. Memorial donations may be made to the Scholarship Fund of Santa Barbara, P.O. Box 3620, Santa Barbara, CA 93130. Memo line: Val Verde Fund. Services were held at All Saints By the Sea in Montecito on April 19, followed by a reception and celebration of life.