Shawn C. Evans

Shawn Christopher Evans, March 3, 1957-July 30, 2022.

Father, magician, locksmith, author, mushroom hunter, philosopher, dog-lover, prankster and giver are just a few of the words that can be used to describe Shawn Christopher Evans who passed away doing what he loved; walking his dogs, with a friend, on a Saturday morning.

A true magician, he performed one last dazzling feet as he left the world abruptly, in a way that has left us bewildered and confused, much like the magic tricks he used to perform so skillfully.  And while we are stricken with grief at this loss, because he truly was a light in this world, we are also filled with awe at the magical, loving, gentle giant that Shawn Evans was.

A rare combination of intellect and athleticism, Shawn spent his childhood in Columbus, Mississippi with this parents Dave and Margaret Evans and his brothers David, Kevin, Mark, Jon, and Chris and a sister, Wendy, whom he is survived by, and an array of foster siblings that helped shape his compassion for and understanding of people.  He delivered the weekly paper from the Dispatch with his brothers, played basketball with his best friend Prentice, who he said had a beautiful shot that he always admired (and later in life he would also admire Prentice’s love for Barack Obama), crawled under old homes to collect bottles, coins and stamps, and did not let the color of a persons skin keep him from making a connection and friendship with them. And by wanting to unlock the secrets of the universe, he became a master locksmith at the age of 14. He was a talented basketball player and received a full ride scholarship to East Mississippi Junior College before going on to graduate from Mississippi State University, Summa Cum Laude, with a degree in Psychology—he had a deep understanding of human nature—and the only class he received a B in was, ironically, Political Science, the subject his father taught at the W. He would always quip that there was some Freudian explanation to that.

Following college, he worked for a Suicide Crisis Hotline and often strayed from the guidelines set of only giving each person an allotted time of twenty minutes, he believed in listening to and helping a person for as long they needed. He wanted to show others the magic in the world and became a lifelong master magician so that he could do just that. A philosopher at heart, he searched for the meaning in life and found it on March, 25, 1990, on the day his daughter was born. She was his world and he is hers.

A lover of books (he wrote and self-published over twenty of his own) and poetry, Auguries of Innocence was one of his favorite poems and he often quoted the opening stanza,

“To see a world in a Grain of Sand

And Heaven in a Wild Flower,

Hold Infinity in the palm your hand,

And Eternity in an hour.”

To him, those words encompassed the highest state of enlightenment that a person could achieve. And he achieved that as he lived free of ego and full of kindness, understanding and compassion. He saw the miracle of the universe in each person he met, in the smile on the face of a child, and even in the mushrooms that he found in nearby forests.

There are not enough words to describe the enigma that was Shawn Christopher Evans, who—while he was too humble to admit—was often, if not always, the most intelligent person in the room. Despite being 6’7”, he never made anyone feel small and instead sought to lift them up on his shoulders so they could see the world from a higher perspective. He was always around to help, whether it was to pick open the door of a locked car, lay down the floors of a house that needed fixing, throw in two extra pieces of fried chicken on a four piece order, show up early so no one had to wait on him, crack a joke at his own expense, pull out a magic trick to entertain the kids at a family function, or simply offer an ear to listen. He was a light in the lives of those around him, he expanded the world and didn’t restrict it. He never took and always gave. Even after life, he still managed to give what he could by being a full organ donor.

In his own words, he was but a mere speck of a dust on a floating rock in an infinite universe and that, in the grand scheme of things, none of this matters. But he wasn’t just a speck of dust and the things he did do matter and his presence will be sorely missed.

His life will continue in the goodness he did for others and the kindness he gave them and through his daughter, CaShawnna, his grandson, Cruse, his step-daughter Deri and her daughter, Eden, and all the other lives he touched.

Hey, Dad, I love you, I always have and I always will, through infinity and beyond, in this world and in the next. Give Hero a kiss for me.

A Celebration of Life will be held at the Plymouth Bluff Environmental Center, 2200 Old W. Point Rd., Columbus, MS, 39701 on Saturday, August 6, 2022, from 3pm-6pm.  Friends and family are welcome.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Columbus Lowndes Humane Society: PO BOX 85 Columbus, MS 39703.