Lance Saylor Evans, a resident of Tarrytown, NY since 1975, passed away on June 18, 2026. His final passing was while on vacation in Happy Valley, OR. His wife of over sixty years, Patricia Evans, and his younger daughter, Gail, were with him at his side.
Lance was born outside of Philadelphia, PA to Edward and Elsie (Saylor) Evans. He had an older brother, Dwight. The family lived in New Jersey until they moved to El Monte, California when he was four years old. He grew up loving and playing sports. He went to El Monte HS for freshman through junior years, then moved to Walnut, California where he attended Los Altos HS. He was a very good student and played football at both schools. He also surfed. He enjoyed hanging out with school friends and neighborhood friends. In particular, in Walnut, he caught the immediate attention of the girl next door-Patricia. Lance went to California Polytechnic State University, during which time he married Patricia-on September 11, 1965. Their first daughter, Stephanie, was born a little over a year later. The following spring, Lance graduated from Cal Poly and went on to earn his PhD at the University of California, Riverside (UCR). By the time he earned his PhD, when just under 25 years of age, Lance and Patricia had two more children-Gail and Matthew. He then completed a two-year post-doctorate at UCR.
The whole family then moved from CA to Brookhaven National Laboratory, on Long Island, in New York-driving and camping all of the way across the country. Lance continued his post-doctorate work at Brookhaven, doing a three-year cell cycle research project. Lance was then hired on as an Asst. Professor of Biology at Manhattan College (now Manhattan University) in Riverdale, NY, but continued to work on weekends, at Brookhaven, for years. He was later promoted to Associate then Full Professor at Manhattan College. Once initially hired by the college, Lance’s family moved to Tarrytown, NY in the summer of 1975-where he and his wife lived, happily, until the day of his death. He was the youngest professor, at the time, to be tenured, and he was the first Endowed Chair of Manhattan College’s Biology Department. He received the endowment based on his years of teaching lectures, his untiring research, and the papers that he wrote based on his inter-departmental research. He had already published well over 100 papers before he was tenured at a young age. Much of his life’s work was based on environmental protection. Once he received the endowment, Lance began doing research all around the world-along with Pat, who remained by his side. Other family members, as well as numerous students, worked alongside him as well-throughout the years. During a particular sabbatical, Lance’s and Pat’s relationship grew much deeper, and-upon their return home-Lance became more supportive of Pat. Upon his retirement, Lance and Pat continued to travel extensively.
He dedicated decades to the Glenville Volunteer Firehouse when it was a service organization. Music played an inherent role throughout Lance’s life. He and Pat enjoyed surf music, classic rock, folk, and blues, and Lance gained an appreciation for classical music later in life. He went to hear Pat perform, for the Teachabout, with the Walkabout Clearwater Chorus, for many of their coffeehouses throughout the years. Lance was very involved in the church throughout life-at El Monte Methodist Church as a youth, and at the United Methodist Church of the Tarrytowns, and at the Memorial United Methodist Church in White Plains, NY later in life.
Lance was predeceased by both of his parents, by several aunts and uncles, by his elder brother, Dwight (Barbara), who passed away forty years, to the day, before him, by his nephew, Jason, and some very close family friends. Lance is survived by his wife, Patricia Evans, his three children, Stephanie, Gail, and Matthew (Nazareth), by his grandchildren, Ariel and Jasmine, Maya and Alicia, and Lance, by his great-grandson, Lucius, and by his niece, Heather (Kyle), his nephew, David, and his great-nephews and niece, Logan, Victoria, and James. Lance was so proud of his family, and his family was ever blessed by him. He was a gentle giant-loved and beloved by all who met him. He will be missed very, very dearly.
A service, memorializing Lance and celebrating his life, will be held on Saturday, September 26, 2026 at the Memorial United Methodist Church, 250 Bryant Avenue, White Plains, NY 10605 at 1:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, you may donate to the Memorial United Methodist Church, the Tarrytown Volunteer Ambulance Corps at P.O. Box 132, Tarrytown, NY 10591 or to the Walkabout Clearwater Chorus at https://walkaboutchorus.org
