Eric B. Evans: A Gardener With Standards
nytimes.com
He was gorgeous. That much everybody agreed on.
But beneath his model's good looks, there were two different Eric B. Evanses. His parents, Charles and Corinne Evans, said he was reserved and quiet, a good student who had been a defensive lineman in high school, and who at 31 was determined to succeed in business.
The other Mr. Evans was a looser, self- assured guy with an infectious laugh who once roomed with three easygoing friends and set standards for them.
"He'd be the only one to have all his shirts pressed," said Keith Carlson, one of the roommates. "We'd run out of shirts and take one of his. So on any given day, there could be four Eric Evans dress shirts out in the workplace," Mr. Carlson said. "He yelled, but he never really minded."
More recently Mr. Evans roomed with Karina Almansa, the woman with whom he said he wanted to grow old.
"He was an open-doors-for-you kind of guy," she said. "He was my heart."
Mr. Evans planted tomatoes and basil behind their building in Weehawken, N.J., and recently adopted Skipper, a 70-pound mutt. Ms. Almansa said he talked of someday having a big house and lots of dogs.
"Eric loved animals," she said, "but he hated squirrels. They took his tomatoes." |
