Nany Evans oral history.indd - Washington Secretary of State

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this cute little guy. Then we started getting together with the family periodically, for lunch usually. We would take them someplace, and it was wonderful to watch because Mary, the mother, spoke very little English. She was shy – a shy Asian woman. Colin speaks pretty good English now, but it was very hard to understand his English back then because of his accent. Dung, the oldest child who has taken the name Rochelle, and the other children were the interpreters for the parents and for us. It was wonderful to see this family of six children. I think when Rochelle came to the states with her family she was 15 or so, and she took responsibility for the kids a lot. There was no hesitation about speaking up and talking because everybody would listen politely to everybody. That doesn’t happen in our family, or a lot of families, you know. People talk over people. But that did not take place in this family. Everybody listened to everybody. So, now we still get together. We don’t do it as often because everybody is so busy. When we went to D.C., we did it less, obviously. But we would always do it at Christmastime because we usually would be back here. It has just been such a joy for Dan and me to watch this family grow and mature and become wonderful citizens. Rochelle, the oldest, is a dentist. They all went to college. They all graduated and did very well, many of them with post-graduate degrees. When we were in D.C., Rochelle came back because she was taking classes at Harvard, I think, and visited us. One went to MIT, one other went back to Harvard as well; one went to Stanford. They have just done so well academically, but they all received their bachelor’s at the UW. They are such wonderful people, and they have a lot of fun together. They’re a joy to be with. Our sons hate to hear this because they say, “All you ever do is talk about the Nguyens!” They’re just joking of course. But two of those children, Ailien and Dung/Rochelle, are dentists. And Quang has a great job. He travels around the world. He’s married and had a new baby in March (of 2009). And Quyen works for Scansa as a project manager for construction projects. Hughes: How about Dan’s namesake? Evans: Evans travels to China and all over the world. He’s worked for Fluke and now he’s working for another company. They hired him away. He does very well. And he has a new baby, too. 126
Hughes: We’ve got to scare up some pictures of Evans with Evans. Evans: We have pictures. I’m forgetting one of the kids. I’ve got the two boys, Quang and Evans. And the other girl is Phuong, or Madeline, who just got married a year and a half ago and she has a new baby. Everybody is so happy and they’re all doing so well. She loves not-for-profits. She decided that’s for her. Hughes: You’ve got some extra grandchildren, Nancy! Evans: Yeah. They are really great. And Rochelle (Dung), the oldest, she’s a very serious young woman. She has her own dentistry practice; works very hard. She had four children, and they’re all doing very well. The youngest is 3. They are just a great family. This letter just came yesterday because I just had a long conversation with Colin on the phone two days ago. He said, “I’d like to show you my grandchildren,” so he sent pictures of the new grandchildren. Trevor is a good scorer in his class. He’s the oldest grandson, and is also their second Math Olympiad winner – just last week. “I wish you very good health,” Colin writes. “The last 34 years … April 23, 1975, I brought my family and my younger brother’s family into Saigon Airport. The C141 left there before midnight and stopped by the Philippines to a bigger jet plane, Galaxy C5, to Guam. We arrived at the destination on April 24, 1975.” Hughes: Wow, what a story! Evans: Yes. It’s a wonderful story. We love this family. Hughes: That reminds me that Dave Ammons of the AP did an interview with you and Dan when you were getting ready to leave the Mansion. The story said you had 24 red leather scrapbooks that you kept that were just full— Evans: Probably, but fake leather. Hughes: OK, fake leather. You said, “Dan and I have been scrapbookers ever since we were children.” Is that right? Evans: Yes, I have a scrapbook. In fact, Dan reminded me the other day it’s in the front hall closet in a box. Someday I should get it and throw most of it away. Hughes: Oh no, don’t do that! Give it to us. We’ll put it in the Archives. Do I read correctly that you got to have dinner with the Queen of England? 127
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Nancy Evans Research by John C. Hug
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certificate says Nancy Ann Bell, wh
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England family. There were a lot of
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Evans: Yes. My father’s mother wa
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Evans: Well, I was a spoiled brat.
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wartime. So that was a severe blow
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Madrigal Singers. I played the pian
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ecause she could say no. So I think
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had two grand pianos as well as the
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ecause he wasn’t waiting for me.
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and then I came. When I competed fo
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out of college, living with all the
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Christmas program. That was just a
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Hughes: What was your first impress
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in Vancouver. They were very Britis
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Evans: Dan tells this story wonderf
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Hughes: I’ve never met Sally Gort
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number of times but it’s still so
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SAS nonstop. You could have 40 poun
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Evans: No. I can’t. I think he wo
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Evans: Uh-huh. Hughes: Is that the
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Evans: That’s right. And lost. Bu
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Hughes: As things went along, were
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Hughes: Barry Goldwater may have be
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Hughes: Did you really find that pe
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Hughes: That’s funny. And then th
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Evans: Well, I used to always say t
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Evans: Yes, pronounced “Poe-gi.
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we’re sitting in the drawing room
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cabinet wives - the wives of the ca
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Evans: Well, Elsie was one. She was
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Evans: Yes. And in fact I remember
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governor was supposed to arrive at
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pointed two pillows for us that are
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dog, “Peggy! Peggy! Come here, Pe
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een assassinated. So there was a ne
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Hughes: I’m told that the chief h
Page 76 and 77: Hughes: Was Neil McReynolds the gov
Page 78 and 79: carpet layer. I was standing there,
Page 80 and 81: just all the time because we were l
Page 82 and 83: Nelsen was his name. We hired him a
Page 84 and 85: Hughes: Nancy didn’t go along? Ev
Page 86 and 87: The Governor’s Foundation wanted
Page 88 and 89: ecome “senior” now to separate
Page 90 and 91: a trundle underneath, so three bunk
Page 92 and 93: sort of stabbed at it and tried to
Page 94 and 95: whole thing. I remember I was very
Page 96 and 97: Hughes: I bet that made a big hit.
Page 98 and 99: They had been put to bed but they w
Page 100 and 101: Hughes: I read that you, and I thin
Page 102 and 103: adjourn. I was young and had never
Page 104 and 105: at the hotel and said, “Do you ha
Page 106 and 107: chickens. We don’t like whole chi
Page 108 and 109: good causes. I couldn’t believe t
Page 110 and 111: never left your eyes. Paul Newman w
Page 112 and 113: go back to Dan for a few seconds, b
Page 114 and 115: Evans: And we don’t carry that ma
Page 116 and 117: told me that on the first trip he e
Page 118 and 119: people. Never. Dan had worked quite
Page 120 and 121: Nancy plays the piano for a sing-a-
Page 122 and 123: Evans: No. It was organized (in 196
Page 124 and 125: inauguration of President Obama. Th
Page 128 and 129: Evans: No. But we met her and Princ
Page 130 and 131: the way Pickleball started. The sto
Page 132 and 133: Evans: Pretty much. I would hope th
Page 134 and 135: the library, which used to be a lit
Page 136 and 137: told this story that Jean Gardner c
Page 138 and 139: Evans: A bit out of the norm. So I
Page 140 and 141: then sort of a Van Dyke, and finall
Page 142 and 143: Hughes: Tell me about that. Evans:
Page 144 and 145: Hughes: Tell us about any other tri
Page 146 and 147: aquavit, which was terrible. And th
Page 148 and 149: I remember I was standing in the fr
Page 150 and 151: early. Well, when Dan was a freshma
Page 152 and 153: time.” Finally he decided to do i
Page 154 and 155: and put him on the plane for his ju
Page 156 and 157: president of the college. He just d
Page 158 and 159: Evans: Yes. I know he likes and res
Page 160 and 161: Heffernan: The other question I hav
Page 162 and 163: He hooked up with a lot of Australi
Page 164 and 165: think very well. So it was a huge l
Page 166 and 167: first of January. Then after some l
Page 168 and 169: But I got the rental furniture deli
Page 170 and 171: was very interesting. And he always
Page 172 and 173: Evans: Yes, we did. Hughes: Did you
Page 174 and 175: So we enjoyed all of that. But when
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was all decorated with very, very c
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me again. But that was my daily wal
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Hughes: You bought a house, tore it
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away after building your first-ever
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had good friends, Sherman and Nouch
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Evans: Yes. And “What about my ch
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learned he was coming to Seattle to
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the fire is lit, the cookies and mi
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very successful and it’s a separa
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Sheppard and she attended the UW. I
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over here. Celia, being a mother, w
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Evans: So they didn’t have to wor
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Hughes: You have always been pretty
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that he’s always easy, but he is
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“Crosscut” 100 Crystal Mountain
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Minnesota 12 Minow, Newt 187 Minto,
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Wallgren, Monrad 2 Washington, D.C.
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Nany Evans oral history.indd - Washington Secretary of State

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