Page created by: Liliana Friedmann

Dr. Donald Lee Evans, 79, of Athens, Ga., died on July 24, 2022, at his residence in Greensboro, Ga. He was born in Kansas City, Mo., on May 22, 1943. He received a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biological sciences from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and a doctorate in immunology from the University of Arkansas. Dr. Evans completed postdoctoral training at MD Anderson followed by faculty positions at Texas Tech University School of Medicine and Wake Forest School of Medicine. Finally, he was a professor in the Department of Infectious Diseases in the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine for more than 30 years. Upon his retirement in 2016, he was appointed Professor Emeritus by University President Jere Morehead.  

Dr. Evans was passionate about education, the scientific method, and immunology. He was an avid runner who completed more than 45 Peachtree Road Races and several half marathons. He loved his family, and he loved to travel. Dr. Evans was exceptionally driven and resilient: he survived multiple myeloma after two stem cell transplants; he endured a ruptured aneurysm; and he lived with Parkinson’s disease for the last several years. At the time of his death, he jokingly told friends he was in search of a fourth incurable disease.