25338 - David Arthur Evans

Event Date : Thursday, December 14, 1989
Event Type : Death
Municipality :
Community : Bradford West Gwillimbury
Street :
Lot :
Concession : 0
Description : Obituary 1915-1989David Arthur EvansAfter a long career in politics, D. Arthur Evans passed away on Thursday, December 14, 1989, just two months short of his 75th birthday. Evans died while undergoing heart surgery at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto.Born February 10, 1915, David Arthur Evans grew up on a farm, south of Beeton. As a young man he started a bakery in Beeton, later moving to Bradford where he ran Bakery-restaurant and Men's wear store.Evans entered politics in 1942, serving on the Bradford Public Utilities Board. He was elected Reeve of the Village of Bradford from 1953 to 1959, with the exception of 1958, when he served as Warden of Simcoe County. During his term as reeve, Evans coped with the flooding cause by Hurricane Hazel in October of 1954, and after the destruction, was instrumental in the construction of the Bradford & District
Community Centre.For Evans, 1960 was a year of change. Acclaimed Mayor of the newly incorporated town of Bradford, he was also elected to the Provincial Parliament as the representative for Simcoe Centre, at which time he stepped down as Mayor and introduced legislation to prevent MPP's from also holding municipal office. He represented all of the people in his riding in the Provincial Legislature for seventeen years, under three successive Tory governments, making many friends of all political persuasions from the Holland Marsh to Christian Island.Evans first campaign was a real tough by-election which he won by some 600 votes. Thereafter, he provided the leadership and representation at Queen's Park that the people of the riding wanted and he became virtually unbeatable. During that time, this MPP chaired several select committees, and was appointed the first Vice Chairman of Ontario Hydro. Arthur Evans firmly believe in the free enterprise" system and gave freely of his time and energy in support of that system.In 1977 Evans underwent a quadruple by-pass operation the first in Canada and retired from Provincial politics. He continued to serve on the Criminal Compensation Board and the Ontario Housing Board and was a member of the Bradford P.U.C. until 1981.Arthur Evans leaves behind his second wife Eileen and four children from his first marriage John Donald Robin and Cathy. He is remembered by eight grandchildren and many many fond friends.Each of us will carry our own thoughts of David Arthur Evans. Two of his dearest friends have graciously consented to share their thoughts in print."My memories will include the good and the sad times of which Arthur had his share of both. I will remember him as a caring loving husband and father; a self-made man; a man who never backed away from a challenge; a man of great humour; a man of integrity; a man who never forgot a friend; a man who had the guts of his convictions. He will be terribly missed by us all but none so much as his old friend Keith Noble his wife Eileen and the members of his family. Ken Tupling"Sir Christopher Wren was the architect who designed St. Paul's Cathedral in London England and put his stamp on many of the city's great buildings. He is buried in the cathedral which he designed. The marble slab over his tomb bears the simple yet eloquent epithet "If you seek his monument look around you."Here in Bradford you could apply those words to Art Evans...our community centre our curling club our utilities and less tangible but even more significant the lives which have been touched for the better by his tireless advocacy first as their town father and then as their member of parliament.Snippets from Bradford's Centennial Journal serve to give us a sense of Art's boundless energy and wide-ranging commitments. At the peak of his municipal political career with its own bottomless demands he was an active past president of the Lion's Club he was playing championship baseball and he was the Master of Simcoe's Masonic Lodge.I knew him only in his retirement years when he undoubtedly has mellowed. He took great pride in his home and grandchildren. he became more philosophical and he certainly had a wealth of experience to share with us. But still the fire continued to burn fiercely and he was unabashedly partisan. You knew exactly where he stood and where you stood with him. Politics was his life and he believe with all his heart that it was a high calling. Anything sullied the good name of his party deeply disturbed him.Arthur Evans has a notably successful parliamentary career but I think neither his heart nor his focus ever strayed far from Bradford. Bradfordites gave him their trust and their votes and he gave them his all. Padre Hopkins"