Befitting someone with such a distinguished career in public service, Dan Evans’ 98th birthday was marked during a meeting of the King County Council in October.
The meeting on Oct. 17 was one day after his birthday, but that didn’t stop the council and others in attendance from saluting Evans, who was on hand for the formal recognition that was initiated by council members Pete von Reichbauer and Jeanne Kohl-Welles.
Evans, who was Washington’s governor from 1965 to 1977, was instrumental in creating the first state-level ecology department in the United States, as well as co-founding the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition and creating councils advancing the status of women, Native Americans, and Asian Americans.
Evans went on to serve as a U.S. senator for Washington, part of a legacy of effective governing, von Reichbauer noted.
“I would be hard-pressed to find a better example of the good in politics and public service than Dan Evans,” von Reichbauer said. “I was fortunate to serve in the state Senate while he was governor and to see his work firsthand. Today we live in an era of division at all levels of government, but when Dan served, he was a master” of bipartisanship.
After his political career, Evans filled prominent roles in education as president of Evergreen State College and later as a regent for University of Washington, which named its School of Public Affairs after him.
Before entering politics, he was a lieutenant in the Navy and was an admiral’s aide during the Korean War peace negotiations.