John V. Evans

John Victor Evans Sr. (January 18, 1925 – July 8, 2014) was an American politician from Idaho. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the state's 27th governor and was in office for 10 years, from 1977 to 1987.

Biography Born in Malad, Idaho, Evans was an infantryman in the U.S. Army during World War II. Following the war, he attended Stanford University and graduated in 1951. He and his wife, Lola Daniels Evans (1927–2015), were married for over 69 years and had five children: three sons and two daughters.

Career Evans returned to Malad after college to help run the family wheat and cattle ranch. but lost the 1946 election.

Evans was re-elected in 1982, narrowly defeating Republican lieutenant governor Phil Batt of Wilder in a contest so close on election night that at least one Idaho television network incorrectly declared Batt the winner.

After nearly a decade as a governor, Evans unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate in 1986, but was defeated by Republican incumbent Steve Symms of Caldwell.

Elections

Later life and death Evans became president of the family-owned D. L. Evans Bank in Burley in January 1987, which was founded in 1904 in Albion by his grandfather, David Lloyd Evans Sr. (1854–1929). Evans died at age 89 in 2014 at his Boise home on July 8. Less than a year later, Evans' widow, Lola, died at her Boise home on May 19, 2015, at the age of 88. They are interred at the Malad City Cemetery in Malad City.