Hope D. Evans, 83

Hope D. Evans passed away on March 18, 2008, after a long illness from emphysema, in Cottonwood, Idaho.

Hope was preceded in death by her husband, Lawrence Evans; brother, Nesbitt Bailey; and parents, Charles and Myrtle Bailey.

She is survived by her son, Terry, and his wife, Debbie, of Kamiah, Idaho; son, John Evans, of Fort Worth, Texas; her three grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.

She was born May 10, 1924, in Chehalis, Wash., to Charles and Myrtle Bailey. She moved to Idaho for a short time and then to Great Falls. In 1937, she moved to a farm northwest of Kalispell.

On July 4, 1947, she married the love of her life, Lawrence Evans. She lived 'in the woods' until 1958, when the family moved to LaSalle Road.

She worked several years at the Hacienda restaurant. In the summers she worked in the cherry warehouse, and in the winter months for the Snowline Tree Company. She managed Glacier Storage for 20 years until she sold the family home in 1993 and moved to an apartment.

She traveled to Texas and California to see her sons as often as she could. On one of her trips, at 73, she became a 'biker mama in leather,' riding behind her son on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle for a Christmas Toys for Tots Run in Sacramento, Calif.

One of her favorite things was to go to Syke's Grocery in Kalispell for 10-cent coffee. She also loved going to Glacier Park and riding the boat at Two Medicine Lake with wonderful friends.

She remained in Kalispell until 1999, and then moved to Modesto, Calif., to be near her son and grandchildren. In December 2002, she moved to Kamiah, Idaho, to an assisted living home. She enjoyed Idaho but would comment on seeing a sign for Missoula, that she 'was almost home.'

She will be returned home to Montana to join her husband.

A memorial service in Kalispell will be held on her birthday, May 10, at 1 p.m., at Glacier Memorial Gardens. Cremation has taken place, and her ashes will be buried next to her husband.