Ralph David Evans

On August 27, 2026, Ralph David Evans passed away at home at the age of 71. Ralph was born in Boise, ID on April 12, 1955. He was the second of four sons to Ray and Orvella Sackett Evans.

His early years were in Brigham City then Garland, UT when Ray (a pharmacist) opened Evans Drug store. Ralph loved entertaining his family with tales of his childhood and how he and his brothers left Grandma Orvella frustrated at dinnertime by stripping the tags off every can in the pantry (thus leaving her guessing whether she was serving beans or peaches with their roast at dinner). These antics were just one of many Ralph and his brothers would get up to.

Ralph graduated from Bear River High School class of 1973. As a student, he was a member of the Lancers jazz band and was a gifted saxophone player. It was a talent he carried throughout his life, always able to pick up a recorder or pluck something out on the piano. Music was our father’s comfort, especially the Tabernacle Choir and watching his brothers and sister-in-law during LDS General Conference. In October of 1997, the Evans family was invited to sing in General Conference with the Farmington Family Choir, being one of the only times we heard him sing. He used music as a comfort during times of hardship.

Ralph served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the England Bristol Mission from 1974-1976. He loved to share his experiences and photos of his time serving there. He developed a strong love of British culture, music, and television (his favorite ride at Disneyland being Peter Pan’s Flight and soaring over London while changing the lyrics of “You Can Fly!” for the laughter of his daughters).

He shared a lifetime of love and cherished memories with his wife Shelley Stokes Evans, whom he married on March 3rd, 1978, for time and all eternity in the Ogden Utah temple. A man of few words, his deep devotion to her showed in his actions. He was known for spending hours searching for the absolute perfect greeting card for Shelley, letting carefully chosen words speak for his heart. Once, he sent a note to her while she was with daughters at girls camp and he used a police report form- altering it to make a “missing persons report” for his wife.

Ralph attended Utah State University and graduated with Psi Chi honors in 1981 with a BS in Psychology. It was then that he decided to pursue a career in law enforcement. Ralph was one of 18 out of 600 officers hired to the Salt Lake City Police. He served Salt Lake City Police for 22 years with dedication and honor. He worked hard to provide for his family, including a lot of sacrifice, long hours, and part time jobs so that Shelley could be home to raise their daughters.

On February 17, 1987, Ralph was awarded The Police Star for coming to the rescue of a fellow wounded officer and apprehending the gunman. He was a dedicated policeman who treated everyone he met with dignity and respect, from the richest celebrity to the homeless on the streets. Ralph always seemed to be on duty when some of the most memorable events happened in Salt Lake City. He patrolled the 1983 flood downtown as well as a part of the triage team for the tornado in 1997. In 1999, he was a first responder during the Triad Center shooting and provided support to the victims and their families. He was also a tireless volunteer in the 2002 Winter Olympics.

In 2004 he retired and was hired as a Deputy for the Salt Lake County Protective Services Division. This gave him a little less stress. This division was assigned to guard County owned buildings such as the City County offices and courts, Abravanel Hall, Rose Wagoner Performing Arts Center, and Capitol Theater. At Christmastime he was very protective of all the children that performed in the Nutcracker ballet, always making sure they got safely on their way home after rehearsals at night.

In his retirement years he worked as an Airport Security and Access Control Specialist for Salt Lake City International Airport. His favorite part of the job was being able to watch the planes take off and land as he was passionate about aviation (sometimes going as far as to arrive early at work to watch the planes depart before his shift).

Ralph’s family have many great memories of their summer trips in an RV to Yellowstone, flying to Disneyland and picnicking in the fall up at Mueller Park in Bountiful. Christmases were always a favorite time in our family and our Dad was always excited to see our faces as we looked to see what he had brought us every year. He never wanted to give Santa the credit for all “the good gifts”, instead we would yearly receive cereal and contact lens solution from Santa and the more quality presents from Mom and Dad.

He had a great love of the outdoors and his hobbies included camping, golfing, combat flight simulator and listening to old time radio shows. Dad loved classic black-and-white television, as well as bizarre, out-of-this-world sci-fi movies. Retirement gave him time for his favorite flicks and evenings spent in his favorite armchair with candy and a diet root beer.

Ralph is preceded in death by his parents Ray (Orvella Sackett) Evans and his brother Bruce Carl Evans (Connie). He is survived by his brothers Kenneth Ray (Velma), Robert Lee (Melanie), his wife Shelley Stokes Evans, his daughters Rashell Williams (Kory), Kimberly Jones (Derek), Kelley, Jennifer and grandchildren Elise McKenzie Williams, Cameron Evan Williams, Vincent David Jones, and Ivy Lynn Jones.

The funeral will be held Saturday, September 5th, 2026, at the Davis Creek 3rd Ward chapel, 825 South 50 East, Farmington UT, 84025. The viewing will be from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m., and the funeral at 11:00 a.m. He will be interred in the Farmington City Cemetery, 500 South 200 East, Farmington, UT 84025.

A live stream will be provided by the family at this link: https://zoom.us/j/99877897235?pwd=NXLabpq78dmgLnB9M4APTy4KkufJ7U.1

Though our hearts are heavy with his passing, we take comfort in knowing his love and kindness will live on in everyone he touched. In lieu of flowers, our family requests that memorial contributions be made in Ralph’s memory to the LDS Humanitarian Aid Fund: (https://philanthropies.churchofjesuschrist.org/humanitarian-services/funds/).

His good works will live on through all who knew and loved him.