Royals Hall of Fame
Don and Frances DeArmon Evans ’59 share a love for Queens, athletics and learning. Their passion for all three is evident through numerous contributions they have made at Queens over several decades. Frances served on Queens’ Board of Trustees from 1990-2013 and received the Alumni Service Award in 2009. In addition to the leadership and service they have provided, Don and Frances have supported academic, cultural, and capital projects throughout campus. Both she and Don have championed efforts to strengthen Queens as a university as members of the steering committees for four capital campaigns and the Albright Legacy Society. Twenty-five years ago, the Evanses joined with others, including the other 2016 Dr. Billy O. Wireman Award recipients, Ned and Adelaide Anderson Davis ’61, in establishing the Royal Society in recognition of Queens’ donors at the leadership level. Since its inception in 1989, funds raised through the Royal Society have provided cumulative scholarship assistance to more than 10,000 students. In addition, Don and Frances Evans are members of Queens’ Ministrare Society in recognition of their total gifts of more than $1 million.
The Evanses have also dedicated significant resources to athletics at Queens. Swimming is of special interest to Don and Frances; he swam competitively through his days as a student at UNC-Chapel Hill, and has been inducted into the university’s Swimming Hall of Fame. Both Don and Frances were among the men’s and women’s swim teams’ most enthusiastic fans cheering on and welcoming home the Royals as national champions. As a result of the Evanses fondness for the sport, the scoreboard and timing system in the Levine Center for Wellness and Recreation’s aquatic center were made possible through their generosity. In addition to swimming, the Evans's, both avid tennis and golf players, have supported the Levine Center’s construction, Royals Club, and the Tennis Center, for which Frances has served on the campaign committee. In recognition of her commitment, Frances’ classmates and friends joined together in 2013 to name a tennis court in her honor.
The Evanses have given so generously of their time to Queens. For this reason, it is very appropriate that Evans Clock Tower and the aquatic center’s timing system bear their name; both are lasting reminders of Don and Frances DeArmon Evans’ extraordinary contributions.
