In more ways than one, Bill Evans of Santa Rosa is a distance runner. He started running at age 40, and still runs an average of 15 miles per week (=780 miles/yr), not to mention his golf addiction (yes, he’s the man you see regularly on the Bennett Valley golf course, running between holes).
Naturally athletic, Bill has always been physically active and played just about every sport imaginable in his youth. He took up tennis and golf in college at the University of Toledo, but it wasn’t until he turned 40 that he really started paying attention to his health. Perhaps the magic 4-0 was a wake-up call, since his own father died at age 48 of a heart attack.
Bill was born in Toledo, Ohio in 1926. His father was an aspiring performer who had difficulty finding work during the depression, but his mother found steady employment as a secretary for the local newspaper to keep food on the table and provide shelter for their family of four. From an early age, he learned to truly appreciate the sacrifices of working women of that generation, as he witnessed his mother coming home after work to cook and clean. Growing up in Ohio was a far cry from Northern California: he recalled the winters being so cold and coal so hard to come by that his father nailed the front door closed during the winter so they’d preserve the heat!
The single life event which left the longest lasting impression on Bill happened during his service in the US Navy, which he entered in 1944 at age 18. He was in the Battle of Okinawa toward the end of WWII and the Japanese were dropping bombs all around them. While some other soldiers seemed to panic, Bill suddenly realized he wasn’t afraid; he was prepared to accept the situation, not worry about what he had no control over, and do what he could within his control. Since that snapshot in time, he has lived his lived his life with acceptance; beyond fear.
After the War, Bill became somewhat of a self-described “playboy,” enjoying the single life through college and a career in newspaper reporting, writing and sports editing in Indiana and Texas, and then back in Toledo with Dun & Bradstreet as a financial reporter before taking advantage of a transfer opportunity to their San Francisco office in 1961 (where he could golf year-round). Once in San Francisco, Bill experienced a longing he had never felt before: he was ready to settle down and start a family. Within a year, he met Diane, a local nurse, who’s been his wife since 1963. They’ve raised “four wonderful kids,” whom he considers his single greatest accomplishment in life.
One’s heroes say much about a person and what’s important to them. When asked if he had any personal heroes, Bill was quick to name three, all of whom he admires for the courage they demonstrated by speaking out: Daniel Ellsberg (Pentagon Papers); Mahatma Gandhi (India civil rights and independence); and Daniel Berrigan (anti-war protester). His own greatest concern is the growing gap between rich and poor in this country, and the trillions of dollars we spend on foreign wars vs. direct aid to people both locally and globally.
And now, for the $100,000 question: what is Bill’s secret to living a long, healthy life? While I admittedly expected him to say “exercise,” he actually surprised me when he said he discovered the secret rather recently: “It’s FUN to do more than you have to” for others, as demonstrated these days by the many things Bill does around his community to help neighbors and keep it clean and beautiful. He takes pleasure in the appreciation he receives, and also enjoys random “anonymous” acts. His volunteer work beyond neighborhood beautification has ranged from volunteering to help immigrant adults improve their English skills, to driving neighborhood children to/from school and appointments, Forgotten Felines volunteer work, and many other contributions, large and small. Reflecting on the marathon of his life, Bill shared only one regret: spending much of his youth and young adulthood engaged in activities for his own pleasure rather than doing for others, which he finds much more gratifying. I personally think he’s done more than his fair share already, but know he’ll always go the extra mile.
Run on, Bill!
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