David F. Evans, 1937-2010: Engineer was actor who owned business

9/24/2010

David F. Evans, 73, a metallurgical engineer and business owner who was a local actor and director in the 1960s and '70s, died of congestive heart failure Monday in Toledo Hospital.

Mr. Evans of West Toledo was president of Toledo Cast Tooling Inc. in Perrysburg, which he founded in 1971. His medical condition was diagnosed in 2007, but he continued to work.

"He just had so much energy, and he always had projects going on," his daughter, Stephanie, said.

The firm, a foundry, poured steel, aluminum, bronze, and more exotic metals for automotive, glass, and other industrial uses, said Dave Rust, a friend and former employee, who began working there at 18 in 1974.

"Mr. Evans was a very good metallurgist, and he seemed to enjoy creating things," Mr. Rust said. "He would have made a very good teacher or professor. He was patient and liked to let everyone else know how things worked."

Mr. Evans put the greasepaint aside when his daughters were small. While a student at Purdue University, from which he received a degree in metallurgical engineering, he played Nicely-Nicely in Guys and Dolls.

On Toledo stages, he acted in All My Sons; A Doll's House, and played Marryin' Sam in Li'l Abner. His performance in Three Men On A Horse garnered an excellence in acting award from the Ohio Community Theater Association.

Blade critic Norman Dresser called Mr. Evans' 1971 performance in the Village Players' production of Under the Yum-Yum Tree "a smash debut…virtually stealing the show with his staccato, rapid-fire delivery of lines and a nice sense of comedy. His wide experience in community theater work paid off with a smooth, ingratiating performance."

Born May 10, 1937, he was a 1955 graduate of Shaker Heights High School, where he sang tenor in its premier choral group and wrestled.

After Purdue, he worked for several companies, including what was then Brush Berylllium in Elmore. He also was an officer in the Army chemical corps.

Surviving are his wife, Cheryl Evans, whom he met in the Toledo Ski Club and married April 21, 1971; daughters, Debby and Stephanie Evans, and brother, Don Evans.

Visitation will be from 2 to 6 p.m. tomorrow at the Walker Funeral Home.

Contact Mark Zaborney at:

mzaborney@theblade.com

or 419-724-6182.