Anita "Wendy" Evans

Sweet, loving and compassionate were just a few words to describe Anita Wendy Evans. She was a very caring and sharing person and even though her time on earth was short, she touched so many lives.

With the United States being involved in the Korean War, 1951's technology was advancing as the U.S. designed the Breeder Reactor which converted Uranium to Plutonium and the first commercial computer, UNIVAC, is put into use at the U.S. Census Bureau. In entertainment, movies The Day the Earth Stood Still, Disney's Alice in Wonderland appear in theaters along with the tv series, "I Love Lucy" premieres on CBS. Dennis the Menace comic strip appears in newspapers across the U.S. for the first time and the phrase, Rock N Roll is coined by Cleveland Disc Jockey Alan Freed. The year also marked the births of Phil Collins, Sting and on September 27, Anita Wendy Laird was born in Toronto, Canada.

At a young age, Wendy and her family moved from Toronto to a small community located just northwest of Indianapolis, Indiana and made Zionsville their new home. She graduated from Zionsville High School with the Class of 1969 and later received her Associates Degree in Accounting from Indiana University in the mid 2000's.

In 1976 she started her work career at Classic Stereo in Fort Wayne and her life would forever change when she met a co-worker by the name of R. Tom Evans. The two would marry on July 4, 1978 in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. Wendy and Tom would eventually move to the Tri-Lakes area north of Columbia City to raise their children, Cindy and Michael "Dan". In 1997, Wendy left her job to start working for Wirco in Avilla. She would retire in December of 2016.

She was a member of The Chapel and enjoyed their knitting club. Over the years Wendy and Tom enjoyed many great times together and made a trip to Israel with other members of their church. She also enjoyed trips with Tom to visit Hawaii, Maine, spending time in Florida and visiting relatives in Canada. Wendy was talented at sewing and even made her daughter's wedding dress. She was an artist who enjoyed drawing birds as she sat on the beach. She also enjoyed swimming and going to the YMCA.

At the age of 67, Wendy was taken away from her family and friends all too soon when she passed away at 6:51 a.m. Wednesday, December 26, 2018 at Parkview Regional Medical Center in Fort Wayne. She is survived by her loving husband of 40 years, Tom Evans; daughter, Cindy Evans, of Noblesville, Indiana; son, Dan Evans, of Columbia City, Indiana; grandchildren, Alexander and Elizabeth; brother, George "Butch" Laird, of Honolulu, Hawaii; and sisters, Lynn (Mike) Hardin, of Greenfield, Indiana and Twila Laird, of Hicksville, Ohio. She was preceded in death by her parents, Ralph and Thelma (Barrie) Laird.

A celebration gathering of Wendy's life will be 1-3 p.m. Saturday, January 5, 2019 at DeMoney-Grimes, a Life Story Funeral Home, 600 Countryside Drive, Columbia City. Pastor Rick Hawks of The Chapel will conclude the gathering at 3 p.m. with a message and prayer. Memorial donations may be made in her memory to Turnstone Center, for children and adults with disabilities. Visit www.demoneygrimes.com to send Wendy's family condolences online.