Humanities professor passes away

Citrus College humanities professor Dr. Robert Evans died Nov. 16 after a decade-long battle with cancer.

Evans, who holds a bachelor and master’s degrees in philosophy from Cal State University Long Beach and master and Juris Doctorate degrees from the University of Southern California, began his tenure at Citrus College in September of 1987.

Evans taught humanities classes and philosophy in the behavioral sciences department until he was diagnosed with terminal cancer earlier this year.

His colleague and friend of 18 years, dean of behavioral sciences Dr. Michael Hurtado, described him as a true intellectual.

“One of my favorite memories of him was watching him teach,” Hurtado said. “He didn't bring any notecards or show a PowerPoint to guide him. It was all from his memory. He had a brilliant mind.”

Hurtado said that working with Evans for over a decade he saw how he sought more for his students to learn concepts than to just pass his class.

“He had a passion for working with people and having them understand concepts of war, peace, charity, ethics and other philosophical topics,” Hurtado said.

Fellow philosophy professor Rudy Saldana said that Evans’ intellect was matched by his love for teaching.

“In his lectures he sought to emulate the great speakers of the past,” Saldana said. “Aristotle, Plato, Hume: all of them were his inspirations.”

“I learned from him that ‘when giving lectures we may have heard this many times but students are hearing the information for the first time so we have to tell it like it is the first time for us as well,’” he said.

Saldana said that Evans was also an enthusiastic sports fan and athlete.

“Bob was always young at heart,” Saldana said. “He was an avid fan of the Angels baseball team and had season tickets.”

“One of my favorite memories of Bob was seeing him race his son across campus,” he said. “They were neck and neck the whole time.”

But his friends all agree he loved his family and his students above all else.

“He was in a lot of pain but he was incredibly tough,” Hurtado said. “He fought through the cancer to spend time with family and friends.”

Lahiana Joy Abuan, a 20-year-old psychology major who works as a receptionist in the Louis E. Zellers Center for Innovation, said that Evans would always say hi to her whenever he would come in and then goodbye whenever he left.

“He was an amazing man. He always had a smile on his face and you could never tell what he was going through,” she said.

His funeral was held on Saturday, November 21, 2009 in Long Beach.
He is survived by his wife Becky of 23 years, his children, Rachel, 21, Bobby, 19, and Rickey, 15, and his father Robert W. Evans.