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Dana Gwendolyn Evans June 12, 1937 - May 18, 2007 Dana Gwendolyn Evans, beloved mother, daughter, sister, aunt, niece and friend has left us to travel another journey. Born in Tuscaloosa, AL to Mr. Joseph Oliver and Ruby Smith Evans, Dana embraced her father's deep compassion and wisdom, and her mother's strength and resolute purpose. After graduating from the University of Tennessee, Dana made her way west, via an internship in Washington D.C., a graduate degree from the University of Reno, and a marriage in San Francisco. Ultimately and unforeseen, Dana found herself atop a 7000 foot plateau nestled between the Sangre de Cristo and Jemez Mountains. Los Alamos was a town she never imagined herself living in, much less heard of. Nevertheless, Dana settled in with her husband, young son, and daughter soon to arrive. She fell in love with the land and people and New Mexico became her home for the next forty years. Dana and her husband created the first documentary film company in New Mexico. Aside from awards that she and her husband won together, Dana independently received more than two dozen national and international awards for her writing, directing and producing of films and videos. Dana was a full time mom, an actor in the Los Alamos Little Theater, founding member of the National Organization for Women's Los Alamos chapter, Board Member of Santa Fe's Historical Foundation, Board Member of the Mary Sidney Society and active in numerous writing groups and speaking engagements. In 1982, after living in Cuernavaca, Mexico for a year with her family, Dana started a film distribution company, and in time ventured into writing feature screenplays, five in all. For the last seven years she has been Director and Executive Director of the International Screenwriting Conference in Santa Fe. Her latest project was a documentary and docudrama challenging the Shakespearean Authorship Question with a new candidate Countess of Pembroke, Mary Sidney. Dana is survived by her children, son, Christian Alaric Evans Balibrera and daughter, Dana Alexandra Balibrera; her sister, and brother-in-law, Sandra Ellen and Thomas Boone of Chatanooga, TN; her brother, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Smith Evans, Ret. of Tuscaloosa, AL; nieces and nephews: Stephen Evans Alley, Anne Kristen Richardson, Michael Grant Evans, Joseph Oliver Evans III, David Smith Evans and their families; Miguel Angel Balibrera, Rene Alberto Balibrera, Angela Mia Ayangos and their families; her beloved aunts: Minnie Magdelena Edmonds of Tuscaloosa, AL, Rose Evans Hall of Key Largo, FL and Theresa Evans of North Carolina and their families; dear and devoted friend, Frances J. Fitts of Dallas, TX; and dear and devoted friends and family here in Santa Fe and across the U.S. Dana Evans was a wondrous force amidst us. She had the heart and pride of a lioness, the tenacity of a Kansas City tornado, the passion of a Puccini aria, the love and tenderness of a John Lennon ballad and a sense of humor, let's just say there was not a day without a good dose of it. Admired and loved madly, she will be sorely missed. Godspeed, my love. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Ambercare Hospice in Santa Fe and/or The Mary Sidney Society. A Memorial Service will be held on Thursday, May 24, 2007 at the Unitarian Church of Santa Fe at 3:00 p.m. with the reception to follow. La Paloma Funeral Home LOCALLY OWNED AND FAMILY OPERATED 1424 4TH Street Santa Fe, NM 87505 (505) 982-2555
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