Oliver Norman Evans

Dr. Evans and his wife, Theodosia, chose Botetourt County as their retirement destination in 1996 having been attracted by the natural beauty of the area. Dr. Evans, a retired Army Colonel, was a military veteran of the WW2 and Korean War era and had served as a Psychiatrist and Flight Surgeon at a field hospital in Vietnam. He had a second career as the Deputy Commissioner of the South Carolina Department of Mental Health in Columbia, S.C.

Dr. Evans wrote the following poem as his preferred obituary from his perspective of the child within us.

Little Me

Twinkle, twinkle little me, how I wonder WHO I might be

Suddenly here without a clue, everything mysterious and brand new

Not even aware of my first cry, and not a single clue as to why

Comforted by a loving touch, I felt secure but not aware of much.

My world was a nurturing breast, until I began discovering some of the rest

First came a voice like none other, and then a face that was my mother

And then came others to my dismay, brothers and sisters to play

Plus another surprise bother, a seemingly redundant thing called a father.

First a crawl and then a step, first clumsy and then more adept

From grunts and gestures to begin, to fluency and concepts to the end

Family, relatives and friends, and on many others it all depends

Groups, culture and society, programs the minds of you and me.

So what began as moldable clay, becomes me day by day

Unpredictable random chance, is the tune to which we must dance

Our inner child beats the drum, for WHO the adult might become

The final sculpture is a waiting surprise, for all regardless of how wise.

Not WHO but WHAT is me, is the ultimate question to be

Quantum particles baked in a star, is the ingredient of WHAT we are

Up quarks, down quarks and the particle zoo, is what makes me and you

Finally producing the moldable clay, that wonders WHY until the final day.

Our thoughts no matter what they may be, are just currents of electricity

Back tracking time far enough, reveals we came from bacterial stuff

Is meaning only an illusion, is life without purpose or a conclusion?

Our little child will never know, but what an awesome trip and show!

Oliver Norman Evans, M.D.

July 25, 1927 – May 15, 2025