Frederick Albert Evans

Frederick "Spook" Albert Evans was born to Victoria and Frederick Evans in Salinas, California on January 12, 1941. He passed away surrounded by his family on January 3, 2024.

Having celebrated almost 83 years of life on this earth, you can imagine how difficult it is to condense his life story into a few paragraphs. So here we go.

He was the oldest of four siblings and was raised on a dairy in Soledad, Ca. When he was 10, his family moved to Watsonville where he attended grammar school at Moreland Notre Dame Academy, followed by St. Francis School for Boys for the first 3 years of high school. For his final year of high school, he would be the only boy in a class of 11 girls, and the first graduating class of Mora Central High, in 1958.

That same year, at the age of 17, he enlisted in the Navy with hopes of traveling the world. The irony of it all was that he ended up being stationed in Monterey, which was driving distance to his home. Regardless of where he was stationed, he proudly served his time as an airplane mechanic.

After the service, he embarked on his journey in becoming a carpenter at Baldwin's Cabinet Shop in Pajaro, Ca. For over 50 years he would be a dedicated Union member of the Carpenter's Union. He led several projects in building Grand Auto Parts stores all over California and Nevada, but his most honored project was when he helped repair St. Patrick's Church steeple after the 1989 earthquake.

Another notable part of Spook was his lifelong love for motorcycles. He belonged to the South County Motorcycle Club and you would often catch him and his buddies participating in hill climbs at places like Hollister Hills.

One of Spook's favorite quotes was from Doc in Gunsmoke: "Every man is entitled to three things in life - one good dog, one good horse and one good woman." Being an avid fan of old westerns, he would share stories of how grateful he was to have this ring true for him. He was an animal lover, being grateful for Rabbit (his one good horse), Friday (his one good dog) and lastly, we could not forget the love of his life, Rosie (his one good woman). After a few dates, including a prank from his friends with filling his entire truck with popcorn, they would be married on November 4, 1972 and enjoyed 49 years of a beautiful marriage.

In his later years of life, you could always find him hanging out at the Gilroy Donut Shop every morning, or riding around town on his motorcycle, or in his old 1950 GMC pick-up, with one of his dogs while enjoying an ice-cold Bud Light. Regardless of how we knew him, we love him and will absolutely miss him.

Spook is preceded in death by his mother and father, Vickie and Fred, his sister Jo Evans, his son Douglas Hogue, his nephew Kurt Miedecke, and his grandson Arnold Crocker II, and the love of his life, Rosie.

He is survived by his siblings, Kathleen Miedecke, David Evans, his children Danny Hogue, Julie Ann Crocker and Jason Marlow, his grandchildren Devin Hogue, Katie Hogue, Sabrina Crocker, Emily Ann Crocker, Molly Mers, Jaynha Marlow, many nieces, nephews, great-grandchildren and numerous cousins.

At his request, Spook was cremated. Please join us Sunday, February 25, 2024 where he will be laid to rest with his wife and son at 12:15pm, at the Gavilan Hills Cemetery, at 1000 1st Street, in Gilroy, followed by his Celebration of Life at the Gilroy Veterans Hall, at 74 W. 6th Street.

Published in Gilroy Dispatch and The Pajaronian · February 13, 2024