William Gene Evans, 89, of Las Vegas, passed away Wednesday Aug. 21, 2013. William Evans was born Feb. 4, 1924, in St. Louis, into a family of limited means. Through hard work, his natural intelligence, abilities, learned skills, and a little luck, he was able to succeed in the areas of engineering and corporate management and had a profound impact on any endeavor he was involved in. He graduated high school in January 1942, and in June of that year he enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve, where he attended radio and radar technical schools in St. Louis and at the University of Iowa. In March of 1943 he entered active service in the Army Signal Corps and was stationed in Sacramento, Calif. From 1943 through 1944, he entered the U.S. Army Specialized Training Program, where he studied engineering at Stanford University and the University of Oregon. He was honorably discharged with a rank of private first class in June of 1945, and through the GI Bill, attended Washington University in St. Louis. He then graduated in 1949 with a BS in electrical engineering. In September 1950, he joined the Westinghouse Research Labs in Pittsburgh. Due to his outstanding engineering and management performance, Westinghouse in 1959 recommended that he become an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow and attend the MIT Sloan School of Management in Cambridge, Mass. As one of 30 Sloan Fellows, he received a master of science degree in industrial management in 1960. Until 1989, William managed businesses for Dresser Industries, Honeywell, and ultimately at TRW where he was responsible for plants throughout the United States, Asia, Indonesia, Australia, Europe, Libya, and the Arab Emirates. William initiated and managed TRW's largest business programs in the People's Republic of China starting in 1974. He retired from TRW in 1989 as vice president and group executive of the Automotive Engine Components Group. William moved to Las Vegas in 1989 with his wife, Dr. Ai Ling Huang. In 1991 the United Nations Development Programme appointed William as consultant to the two largest Electrical Central Station manufacturing businesses in Shanghai and Harbin, China. He worked with Jiang Zimen and Zhu Rongji who became, respectively, Premier and Vice Premier of China. William was active in the Las Vegas Sun City Summerlin Community as president of the Model Builders Club, member of the Chartered Clubs and Community Organizations Committee, and a member of Writers Group. He is survived by his wife, Dr. Huang; and four children from a previous marriage. Visitation will be 2-3 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 29, with services following, both at Palm Mortuary, 7400 W. Cheyenne Ave, Las Vegas. Graveside services will be at 10:40 a.m. Friday, Aug. 30, at Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 1900 Veterans Memorial Drive, Bolder City.

Published online by the Las Vegas Review Journal on August 25, 2013.