Gerald "Jerry" Walter Evans, 94, of Coralville, Iowa passed away on November 23, 2021, at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics, Iowa City. Jerry was born on January 9, 1927, to George and Mable Evans (nee Killian) in Rock Island, IL. He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Marilyn A. Evans (nee Anderson) from Princeton, Illinois and his daughters Nancy, Elizabeth and Jennifer. His pride and joy were his grandchildren Abby, Margot, Hannah, Molly, Dylan, Lucy, Madison and Nicholas along with eight great-grandchildren. Jerry was preceded in death by his parents, his sister and his beloved daughter, Sarah Jane.

Jerry graduated from Rock Island High School in 1945 and was a member of the 1944 WHAM State of Illinois Championship football team. He was also a member of the Chicago Daily News All-State Football First Team. He attended the University of Illinois and was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity. After college Jerry served in the United States Marine Corps.

He met his wife, Marilyn, on a blind date in Princeton, Illinois in 1951 that was set up by Dick Wheelan. He often commented on how he fell in love with her when she first came down the stairs to greet him.

Over the years Jerry touched many lives; from building a skating rink in the back yard for the neighborhood kids in Rock Island, to mastering the Memorial Day canoe trip, and terrifying the young men who came calling on his four daughters. He was especially gifted at providing unsolicited advice to any and all who crossed his path.

One of his favorite things of late was to cut out the funniest obituaries he could find in the local paper (we are looking at you, Joann, whose son remembered her for "running braless in her moo-moo just to prove a point"). He would keep them in his pocket and pull them out to share with his friends and neighbors.

So many people have shared their stories with us, but his family added the following:

Jenny (daughter) – Whenever I was sad he could make me smile by saying "I see a smile coming around the corner". I use the same tactic with my grandkids to this day.

Nancy (daughter) – He would take all of us to Blackhawk State Park for a cookout breakfast. I did it for my own kids and now they do it, too.

Elizabeth (daughter) – When I was young he made me work in his basement office and told me the only boss worth working for was yourself. He started his own business on April 1, 1958; a month before I was born. It became our lucky day as I started my own company 20 years later on the same day.

Jon (Son-in-law) - He is the only RI basketball player to ever make two half court shots back-to-back. This happened at the Wharton Fieldhouse in the 1940's.

Lucy (granddaughter) – I have weekly voicemails saved from him that say "Goose, it's your good-looking grandfather. Call me back- I want to tell you about what I saw on Sixty Minutes. We sure are proud of you! But, seriously- call me back." He was so supportive of my scientific career that he felt the need to discuss anything related to medicine with me, via phone calls, emails, and articles cut out of the paper, essentially giving me extra homework from high school through medical school.

Molly (Granddaughter) - He was my biggest cheerleader, always so proud of me. His grandkids were his favorite thing to brag about.

Trevor (Grandson-in-law) - I'll never forget the immediate phone call after Iowa played Iowa State in football or basketball to rub in a loss or let me know we got lucky that they let the good convicts play today.

Abby (Granddaughter) - He would never let me leave without the "ho, ho, ho I'm so proud of you" and make me swear I will never, ever give up on my dreams. Every time.

Zach (Grandson-in-law) - My favorite memory of him was when he met our son Tate for the first time and he made us show him that he was actually a boy because he didn't believe us, as he used to joke that boys rarely made it in our family.

Margot (Granddaughter) - How about when he saved me from drowning in his pool?! He jumped in with all of his clothes on and everything!

Hannah (Granddaughter) - How he dropped me off on my first day of college and called me banana.

Dylan (Grandson) – I remember when he came out to visit and I was really little. He played nerf soccer with me for what seemed like hours.

The staff at Grand Living, his retirement home, were also moved to share stories about how he teased them every day and remembered all the details of their lives. He will be greatly missed. We hope he is wearing pants at the very least, wherever he is, unlike at his surprise birthday party when he came downstairs in only his underwear.

If you wish, memorials may be directed to Grand Living at Bridgewater (for the Gerald Evans Educational Fund) at 3 Russell Slade Blvd, Coralville, Iowa 52241.