William Owen Evans was born at Wisner, Nebraska in 1914, son of Lewis and Rose Evans.  He moved to a farm northeast of Oakdale, Nebraska and entered the service in 1941.  He was in the Engineer Corps.  He trained at Fort Belvoir, Virginia and Camp White, Oregon.  He served in the Pacific and was on duty at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked and also the Philippine Islands.  He returned to the states in1942 and again in 1945.  He was discharged in January 1947.  He married Mary Lloyd in 1945 and ranched in Colorado and then returned to farm near Oakdale.  They were parents to eight children.