Fredric Lester “Les” Evans passed away January 14, 2025, at the age of 86 years. Born March 8, 1938 in
Nevada City, California, to Robert Evans and Geraldine Raynor, Les was the second child of four and was
known as “Sonny” to his family. As a youngster, Les attended school in Grass Valley and Nevada City,
California, but soon after graduating high school Les was drafted into the Army due to missing too many
National Guard meetings over that summer, as he rode his Triumph motorcycle with a buddy down the
California coast. In the Army, Les became an expert marksman and was honored for his skills and
ultimately ended up serving in Hokkaido, Japan, decoding Russian communications. Upon leaving the
Army at the end of his service, he returned home to Grass Valley, CA where he got a job at the local
bowling alley as a bartender. This allowed him to bowl as much as he wanted, in between customers,
and where he happened to catch the eye of the young woman he would ultimately marry who was there
bowling with her aunt and uncle. She thought he was cute, but must have a terrible drinking problem
because he kept running back to the bar after he would throw a couple of balls. Les eventually won the
heart of Nancy Christman and they married October 8, 1961. Les and Nancy were blessed a couple of
years later with two children, a son, Terrance Scott Evans born in 1963 and a daughter, Julie Lynn Evans
Johnston born in 1966. In search of a steady job and a better livelihood for his family, Les moved the
family to Susanville, CA in November 1966 and went to work for the Lassen County Agriculture
Department. Within a short period of time, the current Agricultural Commissioner took a job in another
county and Les stepped in, taking the classes needed to become the Agricultural Commissioner, Sealer
of Weights & Measures for the County of Lassen for the next 15 years. In April of 1985, Les lost his wife
Nancy to cancer and a year later retired from the county, but continued to work in other endeavors
farming strawberry plants and certified seed garlic. He also enjoyed sailing, riding motorcycles, and
occasionally flying his airplane, but mostly he enjoyed hanging out at the airport as one of the local
“airport bums”. Les also enjoyed spending as much time as possible with his two grandchildren, Shelby
and Trevor, as they grew up, and loved showing them all the things he loved - riding bikes, fishing,
shooting cans, shooting acorns with a slingshot and teaching them to ride dirt bikes as well as rolling
pennies and anything else he could think of. In the last six years, Les met the newest loves of his life – his
two great grandsons Easton, 6, and Lawson, 2. Even while being in memory care over the last two years,
Les was fortunate to still know his family and loved seeing them, pictures and videos of his
granddaughter and grandson, but especially of his two great grandsons who just made him get the
biggest smile and say “Aren’t they wonderful”.
Les was preceded in death by his wife, Nancy, father Robert Evans, mother Geraldine Stephens, and
older sister Joyce Young. He is survived by his son Terry Evans (Tanja), daughter Julie Johnston,
granddaughter Shelby Preble (Kris), grandson Trevor Johnston, great grandsons Easton and Lawson
Preble, brother Robert Evans, sister Donna Evans, numerous nieces and nephews, and Carmelita Perez
Garcia of San Carlos, MX.
Graveside services will be held Saturday, February 1, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. at the Janesville Cemetery
where he will be laid to rest beside his beloved wife, Nancy. A luncheon/reception for family and friends
will follow at the EAA Hanger at the Susanville Airport where everyone can give a toast to Les and share
stories they have of him. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association
(www.alz.org) as Les suffered from vascular dementia caused by mini strokes, or the Leukemia &
Lymphoma Society (https://givenow.LLS.org).