38 | FRONTDOORS MAGAZINE THEY SETTLED IN ARIZONA When it came time to put down roots, they decided Arizona presented the most opportunity. Steve worked for five years THEY’VE BEEN MARRIED FOR 57 YEARS Ardie McCrone had barely started her freshman year at Arizona State University when she was set up on a blind date. Steve Evans, a junior, wore a coat and tie to the dinner at his fraternity house. “From fraternity row, we walked across the railroad tracks to the stadium for the first football game of the year,” Ardie said. “It was August, and I was wearing three-inch heels and stockings.” A year-and-a-half later, Ardie and Steve were married at the Newman Center at ASU — a love story and partnership that has spanned more than five decades and helped shape our community. THEY’VE TRAVELED THE WORLD Steve Evans grew up in Downey, California, a city of 113,000 people halfway between downtown L.A. and Disneyland. The Carpenters hailed from Downey, and it is the birthplace of the Apollo space program. Evans left Downey in 1963 to attend ASU through the ROTC program. After earning a bachelor’s degree and an MBA, he headed to Biloxi, Mississippi, for 11 months of Air Force electronics and electrical engineering training. Then, he and Ardie were sent to Hawaii, where Steve served as an officer, building electronic systems in the Pacific for three-and-a-half years. The young couple loved exploring the islands and took trips to Asia when they could. “I think that’s where Ardie and I developed a love of travel,” Steve said. Newlyweds Ardie and Steve served as chaperones at an ASU fraternity Christmas formal in Flagstaff. Avid travelers, Ardie and Steve will be visiting Ethiopia for the first time this fall. They are shown here at Machu Picchu.

continued... at W.R. Schulz and Associates, an apartment investment company, before co-founding Evans Withycombe Residential. The company merged with Equity Residential in the late 90s, and Steve stayed on the executive committee and board for another 10 years. Through all the growth and change — “We remember when Shea Boulevard was gravel,” Ardie said — the couple remained bullish on Arizona. They still are. “Coming back was the absolute right thing to do in so many ways,” she said. THEY ROLLED UP THEIR SLEEVES Ardie and Steve have always been active in the community. In the early days of their marriage, Ardie joined the Junior League and supported Phoenix Art Museum. Steve started with Luke’s Men, which became Vitalyst. “For us, volunteerism leads to philanthropy. We don’t just give money to organizations. We volunteer and go to work,” Steve said. Ardie’s first fundraising effort provides an early glimpse. When Ardie was in her 20s, a friend asked her to help canvass for March of Dimes. So she set out, pulling her kids in a wagon behind her. “Everyone gave the same amount — $1. I came home and wrote my very first check for a donation. I mean, we’d make little donations, for kids’ stuff or money in the basket at church, but this was a real check for $10,” Ardie said. “You never guess where life is going to take you.” Indeed, that $10 led the Evanses to broad and deep commitments to the community, in education, health and human services, and arts and culture. Valley of the Sun United Way, Homeward Bound, the W. P. Carey School of Business, Trust for Public Land, Paradise Valley Mountain Preserve Trust, Arizona Community Foundation, Desert Botanical Garden, Boys & Girls Club of Greater Scottsdale, Phoenix Art Museum, Teach for America, and the ASU Foundation have all benefited from their dedication. “Look at the boards we’ve been on. You can kind of tell where most of the money goes, because we’ve rolled up our volunteer sleeves or chaired a capital campaign,” Steve said. “I think that’s from Ardie being a candy striper when she was in high school and me being in the Key Club in Southern California. Our families were involved,” Steve said. THEY RAISED LEADERS Family is central to the Evanses’ world and a reason they invest in the community. “This is where we raised our three children, and we’ve been lucky to have eight grandchildren raised here,” Ardie said. “So, we care a lot about the health of this community and the quality of life for everyone.” All three of Ardie and Steve’s children are active in community life. Pam Kolbe, their oldest daughter, is executive director of Desert View Learning Center and chair of the Board of Visitors. Lizzie Bayless, their youngest daughter, serves on the Board of Visitors board, too. Their middle child, Matt Evans, is active in housing, working in the same business as his dad. FRONTDOORS MAGAZINE | 39 The Evans family celebrating Steve’s 50 th birthday at a Bondurant car rally. Steve’s career in the real estate industry has allowed him to see a landscape of opportunities and challenges.