Louise Mahon Evans
Louise Mahon Evans passed away at her home Feb 28 2020 following a series of strokes. A long time resident of Montecito, she was 92.
Born in Elmhurst, Illinois, she moved to Oregon following her marriage in 1949. Her growing family relocated to California’s Tulare County in 1956. The family relocated to Santa Barbara county in 1958.
Louise was a stay-at-home mom until the mid-Sixties when she began teaching part-time. She returned to school and graduated from USCB in 1968 and went on to earn her teacher’s credential. She taught at La Cumbre Junior High School until her retirement.
A traveler, Louise made many trips from the West Coast across the United States to visit family and friends. She made annual treks to Oregon for the Ashland Shakespeare Festival. She also traveled extensively in Europe, visiting countries from Ireland to Russia. She and her family took a cruise to Alaska for her 70th birthday.
One of her greatest joys in retirement was genealogy and family history. Joining the Santa Barbara Genealogical Society to help with research, Louise was able to uncover the family mystery surrounding her unknown paternal grandmother. With that success, she was able to reach out and discover an entire branch of the Mahon family tree. During Mahon Family reunions, Louise served as the family story teller. A great regret was that she was never able to trace the Irish heritage of her ancestor, Thomas Mahon, who became a US citizen in 1853.
Beyond her family, her greatest love was chocolate in any form.
Her former husband, Walter F. Evans, pre-deceased her in 2001. She leaves five daughters, Barbara, Elizabeth, Patricia, Susan and Laura; three grandchildren, Patrick, August and Marina; and two great grandchildren, Emma and Elizabeth. She is also survived by her brother, Thomas O. Mahon; a sister-in-law, Susie Mahon; and numerous nieces, nephews and friends.
A funeral Mass will be held at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Montecito where she was a parishioner for more than 60 years. Services are scheduled for March 11 at noon. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent in her name to the following: the Santa Barbara Genealogical Society (sbgen.org) ; The Unity Shoppe (unityshoppe.org) ; or Santa Barbara VNA Health (vnhcsb.org).