Ray Evert

My sympathies to the Evert family. Dr. Evert was my Ph.D. professor in the 1980's, accepting me after all did not go well with my first choice of professor. Dr. Evert was an enthusiastic teacher, a thorough mentor, and a genuinely decent human being. He attended my wedding in Milwaukee, and we still use the Gerber steak knives he gifted to us (although they always did look suspiciously like laboratory scalpels!) Dr. Evert was a gracious dinner host to his students and employees at his lovely home, and I still have the recipe for salad dressing Mary shared with me! He and Mary took my husband Chris and me out to dinner at Quivey's Grove to celebrate the completion of my degree. A memorably delicious dinner and Ray got to show off his newly acquired Mercedes Benz as he played chauffeur for us. The last time I saw Dr. Evert was in 2009 when my family visited UW-Madison as a possible school for my son Henry. He took us out to lunch, and we visited the Botany Garden and greenhouses. The last time I interacted with Dr. Evert was when I requested and he wrote a letter of recommendation for a teaching position at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia. A priest on the search committee told me it was a glowing recommendation. Thanks, Dr. Evert. Many good memories! My only surprise in all this is that Ray and Mary chose to gift Penn State over UW with a scholarship fund. The Nittany Lion over Bucky Badger??? Anyway, Rest in Peace, Dr. Evert -Mary Michele McCauley, Ph.D. 1987

To the family of Dr. Evert: Please accept my sympathies. I am so sorry for your loss. I worked for Dr. Evert as the The Department of Botany's administrator at UW Madison for many years. Dr. Evert was THE BEST BOSS ever! He was fair, kind, humble and did everything he could to help me succeed as a "newbie" Dept. Administrator. Ray gave me room to grow and to develop as a Department Administrator. I think it was his belief in me that I could do the job that was so helpful even though I was new to the university, to the department and to the job. I was so fortunate to begin my career under Dr. Evert's tutelage. I will always have fond memories of Ray and Mary. Sincerely, Barbara Erlenborn