John Leroy Evjen

Father: John Evjen
Mother: Agnes (Larsdotter Sylte) Evjen

Spouse: Joyce Marie (Nelson) Evjen

Biography Notes...

John LeRoy Evjen was born on May 4, 1932, in Troy, South Dakota, to John and Agnes (Osterkil) Evjen. He was the youngest of nine children. He was baptized and confirmed at the Lutheran church in Troy. After attending school and working on the family farm, John headed west, ending up in Seattle, Washington. He worked for Boeing Industries where he helped to build the first B-52 bomber off the assembly line among other planes. John then returned to Watertown, South Dakota.

On August 4, 1956, John was united in marriage with Joyce Marie Nelson. The couple moved to Lake Mills, Iowa, where John began working at Cool Springs. He then went to work at Weyerhaeuser Industries in Albert Lea, Minnesota, where he worked for over 25 years. Upon their closing, John began working at Fleetguard in Lake Mills until retirement.

After he retired, John and Joyce became frequent long distance travelers, spending time with their daughter and her family in California, and son and his family in South Texas. Eventually, the two became winter Texans spending them at Lake Corpus Christi until Joyce’s passing in 2011.

Growing up and throughout his life, John loved to hunt and fish; especially fishing. He was not a catch-and-release kind of guy. He loved good fish. He also enjoyed bowling, being on a league for several years, and earning the nickname Johnny Ebonite. John also loved watching the Vikings and the Twins, except when they were losing.

John was a lifetime member of Salem Lutheran Church. He was also a long time member of the Lake Mills Senior Citizens Club.

John is survived by his son Jim (Rose) Evjen of Portland, Texas, and his son-in-law, Tom Ramthun of Lake Mills, Iowa; three grandchildren, Jennifer Ramthun of Ames, IA, and Taniesha Evjen and Dakota Evjen both of Fort Worth, TX; a sister, Vivian Larson of Watertown, SD; sisters-in-law, Joyce Evjen of Strandburg, SD, Marilyn Evjen of Stockholm, SD, Delores Roberts and Donna Miller of Watertown, SD, Barbara (Dennis) Meseberg of Ontario, CA, and Dorothy Barck of Marshall, MN; a brother-in-law, Jerry (Deb) Nelson of Lawrence, KS; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins and their families.

He was preceded in death by his parents; wife Joyce; his daughter Janice Ramthun; grandson Matthew Ramthun; three brothers Ray, Lloyd and Loyal; and four sisters, Adelle, Helen, Ruth, and Nordis.