Eric B. Evans: A Gardener With
Standards
He
was gorgeous. That much everybody agreed on.
But beneath his model's good looks, there were two
different Eric B. Evanses. His parents, Charles and
Corinne Evans, said he was reserved and quiet, a good
student who had been a defensive lineman in high school,
and who at 31 was determined to succeed in business.
The other Mr. Evans was a looser, self- assured guy
with an infectious laugh who once roomed with three
easygoing friends and set standards for them.
"He'd be the only one to have all his shirts pressed,"
said Keith Carlson, one of the roommates. "We'd run out
of shirts and take one of his. So on any given day, there
could be four Eric Evans dress shirts out in the
workplace," Mr. Carlson said. "He yelled, but he never
really minded."
More recently Mr. Evans roomed with Karina Almansa,
the woman with whom he said he wanted to grow old.
"He was an open-doors-for-you kind of guy," she said.
"He was my heart."
Mr. Evans planted tomatoes and basil behind their
building in Weehawken, N.J., and recently adopted
Skipper, a 70-pound mutt. Ms. Almansa said he talked of
someday having a big house and lots of dogs.
"Eric loved animals," she said, "but he hated
squirrels. They took his tomatoes."
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