The Reverend Dr. Til Evans—wise and compassionate counselor, consummate teacher and religious educator, professor, and sometime parish minister—died at age 95 in the early hours of 19 April 2018.
Til’s death announcement brought forth a stream of tributes, steadily praising her wisdom and recalling moments of deep personal connection, especially from Starr King School graduates. She was poetically described by Mark Belletini as one “who lives a teaching life with laughter, love and rage, [and] proclaims incarnate soul within this soulless age.”
Myrtle Joan Ferryman was born on 5 February 1923 in Bristol, England. She never liked “Myrtle” and shortened it to “Til” early on. On her 17th birthday, Til began training as a nurse, later specializing in midwifery, during which short career she proudly delivered 105 healthy babies. At a USO dance in 1944 she met Bill Evans, a US Army Air Force GI. They were married in 1945 and settled in Bill’s home area of Los Angeles, eventually adding five children to their family.
Seeking religious grounding for her children, Til was invited to a local UU church. Her involvement grew over time, directing religious education programs at nearby churches and eventually taking a part-time faculty position at Starr King School in the 1970s plus religious education positions in the UUA district and then at the Walnut Creek, CA, Mt. Diablo UU Church.
Her marriage to Bill Evans having ended by extended separation and then divorce, Til and the Rev’d Bob Forbes were wedded in 1982, but the marriage was sadly cut short by Bob’s untimely death from cancer in 1984. Continuing her service on the Starr King faculty, she eventually guided the school as acting president (1988-90), and in 1992 was awarded an S.T.D. honoris causa on retirement from her professorship.
At the time of her death, Til Evans was survived by sons Chris (later deceased in the fall of 2018) and Marc, daughter Rebecca, four grandchildren, one great grandchild, sister Jasmine in Great Britain, numerous nieces and nephews, and not least, by her beloved cat Gigi. She outlived also a sister, a brother, and two other children, Jane and David.