(Feb. 24, 1922-May 7, 1996). Born in Crawfordsville, Indiana, to Benjamin Crabbs Evans and Ruth Fraley Evans, Daniel Evans became the third generation of his family to provide board leadership to of Indianapolis. He was named after Arthur Fraley, his maternal great-grandfather, who raised substantial monies to pay for beds and bedclothes when the hospital was built, and his paternal grandfather, Frank C. Evans, who succeeded Fraley as a member of the hospital board. When other center-city hospitals moved to the suburbs, Frank C. Evans insisted that Methodist Hospital continue to serve inner-city health needs.
Daniel Evans met his future wife, Julia Delo Sloan, at an Indiana State Speech Contest at which they both were winners, and they corresponded during his service as a U.S. Navy officer in World War II, during which he earned four battle stars. Their half-century marriage produced three children—Julia, Daniel, and David.
Evans received an AB degree from Wabash College, an MBA from Harvard, and an LLD from . He began his lifelong career at in the personnel office in 1948, president and chief executive officer in 1965, and chairman and chief executive officer in 1974. During his tenure as CEO Ayres expanded, opening stores in suburban shopping malls around the state, and was eventually acquired by Associated Dry Goods, becoming a subsidiary of that New York-based corporation. He retired in 1976.
Perhaps more importantly, always dapper wearing his signature bow tie, Evans gave generously of his time to the community, serving as a trustee then acting president of Wabash College and on many boards including those of and the of Indianapolis, and providing assistance to the Indiana Merit System Association and the Indiana State Tax and Financing Policy Commission. He also used his position as head of L.S. Ayres to encourage 53 other Indianapolis companies to sponsor Job Opportunity Days for local high schools, an effort meant to address inner-city unemployment and ease racial unrest.
The Daniel F. Evans Center for Spiritual and Religious Values in Healthcare was established in 1996 to honor his longstanding service to the mission of Methodist Hospital and what would become . The Evans Center promotes initiatives and research that “integrate the values of compassion, whole person care, ethical practice, and spiritual care services into all patient care, community wellness and staff development activities of IU Health.”
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