Carl Evans, retired Kansas City Public Schools administrator and board member, dies at 76
Carl Evans was in his Kansas City high school sophomore classroom when officials with the U.S. Army showed up to register all 18-year-old men eligible for military service.
Almost everyone laughed except for Evans. Until that moment, his fellow classmates were unaware that Evans was older than the rest of them— 18 years old, in fact, and the only present student eligible. He had fallen behind in school because he spent many of his early years splitting his time between the classroom and picking cotton in the fields of his native Arkansas.
It was an embarrassing moment for Evans at the time, his younger son Chris Evans recalled. But the event was also a catalyst for his motivation to spend decades working to inspire many young students in the Kansas City Public Schools system for years to come.
“He was able to connect with kids that didn’t fit the mold of the perfect student,” Chris Evans said. “And I think that connection actually encouraged him and inspired him to go further in education. Just seeing that there’s a lot of kids that need a male role model, or need a father-type figure.”
Carl Evans, 76, a retired educator and administrator with Kansas City Public Schools, died Nov. 13 of complications from cancer. He spent 30 years working with the district in roles that included teacher and vice principal. He also served as an elected member of the Kansas City Public Schools Board between 2011 and 2019. And he remained active even as his health fell into decline over recent months, spending some of his final days organizing a community meeting focused on helping the school district progress, his son recalled.
Born March 25, 1945, in Clay Brook, Arkansas, Evans was the fourth of 13 children, only a bit younger than his twin sister. The Evans family later relocated to Missouri’s Bootheel region when Evans was still in grade school before settling in Kansas City in 1962.
Evans graduated from Lincoln High School in 1965. That year, at age 20, he joined the U.S. forces overseas during the Vietnam War. He returned home two years later and used the veteran benefits he earned under the G.I. Bill to enroll at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where he pursued a bachelor’s degree in history. He eventually went on to complete two master’s degrees in education and administration.
It was at UMKC that Evans met Margaret Florence, with whom he would share a marriage and two sons. The couple tied the knot in 1972, roughly a year after they started dating.
In 1973, Evans’ long career as an educator began with a teaching position at Chester Anderson, a KCPS alternative school, now known as Success Academy at Anderson at 1601 Forest Ave.
“It was an eye opening experience,” Evans said during an oral history interview with the UMKC School of Education recorded in 2016. “I learned how to work with so-called ‘difficult’ kids. They weren’t difficult, but a normal classroom setting was not necessarily for them, and a lot of teachers couldn’t handle them, so they were given to us.”
Evans spent six years working in the alternative school before later taking on other roles at Northeast High School and Westport Junior High. He was known for coming to work in sharp attire every day — even when business casual became a trend — a habit his son says originated in part from time spent in the military.
“So many of his former students said, ‘It was amazing. You were the first Black man that I ever saw who wore a suit and tie every day,’” Chris Evans said. “Just small things like that were an inspiration.”
In the Evans household, students became like part of the family. Many visited the family home after the final school bell let out. Evans often chaperoned basketball games, and the cheerleading squad was like babysitters for the two young Evans boys, Chris Evans recalled.
“It was a complete family atmosphere,” Chris Evans said.
Following his retirement from Kansas City Public Schools, Evans sought to remain a shepherd of young students’ education through his role as an elected member of the Kansas City Public Schools Board. Not one to see the position as a step on the political ladder, Chris Evans said his father’s sole aim was to be a representative for student interests and well-being during his time there.
Beyond his duties as an educator, Evans employed his work ethic and his natural gift for connecting with people to found a family-run business: T-Shirt King, Inc., founded in 1985. The custom screen printing and embroidery clothing shop is still run by the younger Evans.
In his home life, Carl Evans resided in an 8-plex apartment building he owned on Prospect Avenue in Kansas City’s Oak Park Southwest neighborhood. He had the gift of gab, his son recalled, and frequently struck up conversation with neighbors and even strangers as he was out tending to his garden or with a game of dominoes.
Evans is survived by his sons, Carl Evans II and Chris Evans; his grandchildren, Brittany, Brooke, Bria, Zachary, Isaiah, and Noah; a great-grandson, Zachary II; and siblings, Mamie, Carol, Lawrence, Dianne, Tracy, Minnetta and Latonial; and a host of nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.
Other remembrances
Frank Fields Sr.
Frank James Fields Sr., a retired plumber and pipefitter and father to 11, died Dec. 1. He was 82.
Born on July 4, 1939, in Monroe County, Mississippi, Fields was the fifth of 13 children of the late Billy Sr. and Clara Mae Owens. He attended Mississippi Public Schools, graduating from Fannie Carter High School.
After moving to Kansas City, Frank joined Emmanuel Baptist Church under the leadership of the late Bishop W.H. White Sr., becoming a deacon in 1969. He was also a member of the male chorus and later the Board of Trustees.
Fields married Junetta Crawford on July 14, 1959. They raised 11 children and shared 62 years of marriage.
Fields worked as a busboy at Hereford House restaurant before becoming a plumber and pipefitter at Bendix/Allied Signal/Honeywell. He retired in 2001.
Fields enjoyed hunting and fishing as a young boy and throughout his life. He also loved having his family over for holidays and taking annual family vacations.
Fields invested in real estate and spent his remaining years as a landlord.
Fields’ survivors include his wife Minister Junetta Fields; eight sons, Frank Fields, Jr., Christopher Fields, Volney Fields, James Fields, Corey Fields, Sr., Quennel Fields, Sr., Jacque Fields and Zahn Fields; three daughters Sherry Fields, Lydia McBride, and Marsha Fields; and 16 grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren.
Mary Lee Wayne
Mary Lee Wayne, of Kansas City, Kansas, died Nov. 27. She was 101.
Wayne was born Mary Lee Roberts in Strong, Arkansas, on August 5, 1920, to Charley and Havana (Smith) Roberts. She and her five siblings grew up on the family farm in Strong, where they earned their primary education in a one-room schoolhouse and attended Gardner High School.
In 1938, she married Grady Wayne, Sr., and moved with him to his hometown in Marion, Louisiana. They had four children, Grady, Jr., Marie, Willie, and Sandra. Willie died in infancy. Grady Wayne was drafted and served in World War II.
The family moved to Kansas City, Kansas in 1950. Mary was a member of Calvary Baptist Church for many years before joining Mt. Zion Baptist Church where she had been a member 29 years. She was the oldest member of the Mother Board until her death. She was also an active member of the Jolly Sixteen Art Club in Kansas City, Kansas, for many years.
Wayne is survived by her children Grady Wayne, Jr., Marie Wayne Watson and Sandra Wayne Campbell; grandchildren John Wayne LaTanya Taylor,Lori Donnell, Gary Wayne, Deardra Murray, Erieka King, Kevin Baldwin, Tami Middleton, Mark Wayne, Nichole Harris, Brett Wayne, Phillip Campbell, Jr., Ashley Young, and Garron Wayne; 27 great-grandchildren; 26 great-great grandchildren; and one great-great-great grandchild.
