Nany Evans oral history.indd - Washington Secretary of State

Evans: A bit out of the norm. So I excused myself and went upstairs to our bedroom. And
it was very difficult for him, but he had decided not to run. And he wanted me to know.
He was very sad, very teary.
Hughes: There’s an interview you did with Dave Ammons in 1974. You said you’d actually
had some mild opposition to Dan seeking a third term.
Evans: Yeah. Each time.
Hughes: And there’s this quote: “I think it’s only natural that a woman, a wife, wants to try
to get back to a more normal existence.” Then you added, “But any good wife will tell you,
you usually let the man do what he wants.”
Evans: Did I say that? Was that me?
Hughes: It has quote marks around it.
Evans: OK. I wasn’t sure. It does sound like me.
Hughes: But for your three sons, well, the Mansion was the only home those boys had ever
really known.
Evans: That’s correct. That was their life.
Hughes: So how old are the boys in 1977 when you left the Mansion?
Evans: They were 16, 13 and 10.
Hughes: Before Dan made up his mind, were there family meetings on the topic?
Evans: No. Not then. No, it was not their decision to make.
Hughes: You were talking to Ammons again as you were packing up, sharing your memories.
Evans: Gee, he was a real nuisance, wasn’t he? I’ll have to tell him that.
Hughes: There’s a picture of Ammons in there (the scrapbook) with a beard. It’s one of
the worst beards I’ve ever seen. It’s a really bad beard. Dan, on the other hand, had a
really great beard. Why did Dan Evans grow the beard?
Evans: I remember that very well. I don’t remember the year, but it was late in the
governor’s office, probably ’74 or maybe ’75. Before he had always felt that he could not
be away from the office for more than a week. So when we got away it was for maybe a
week. Suddenly I think he thought, “Well, maybe I can be away a bit longer.” So we took
a three-week vacation. We went hiking and we went yachting up into Canada. It was just
138