Thomas Evan Evans was born in Chicago, Illinois December 13, 1944. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1966 and served for 2 years during the Vietnam War Era. After Basic at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri he was assigned to Headquarters, Continental Army Command at Fort Monroe, Virginia. Increasing in rank to Specialist 5th Class, Tom’s position was Senior Clerk tasked with reviewing Army unit’s strengths for deployment. He received orders for Vietnam, but these were cancelled by his superiors and he remained at Fort Monroe until his enlistment period was completed.
On returning home, Tom met and married his wife Lauren. He used his G.I Bill benefits to complete his bachelor of science degree in Economics from Illinois Institute of Technology and went on to receive a Master of Business Administration from Benedictine University. While taking classes at night he worked in accounting and finance for a number of companies in the Chicagoland area. He was serving as Chief Financial Officer when he retired from Netco Corporation in 2007.
During the ensuing years Tom and Lauren had four children. They lived in North Riverside, Hickory Hills, Hazel Crest Illinois and then in Elmhurst Illinois where they settled for 22 years. It was in Elmhurst that Tom joined the American Legion Post 187. They moved to Naperville in 1998 and Tom transferred to Naperville Post 43 in 2007. He served as Finance officer from 2008 until 2014 when he became Sr. Vice Commander of the Post.
Like many veterans, Tom felt that the military was where he learned to accept responsibility for his actions. Without that experience, he doubts he would have accomplished as much as he did. For Tom the American Legion and Naperville tied together. “I was able to give back to my community by supporting our youth programs and veteran activities. In my term as Commander, I was honored to participate in numerous activities that brought me closer to my veteran friends.”
Tom became the 83rd Commander Post 43 2015-2016.
