Rose Mary MacPhee Evans

Rose Mary MacPhee Evans died peacefully at home on April 13, 2015, after a long lifetime filled with the desire to do good in the world. Born in San Francisco on January 30, 1928, she entered Stanford University at the age of sixteen, then married Matthew Evans at twenty and raised four children. She worked as an elementary school librarian when her children were young, and encouraged her students to write their own books, which other children could then check out and read. She then went back to school for a master’s degree in special education and taught people with developmental disabilities for many years. She was a founding member of the Susan Snyder Center, a program for developmentally disabled adults which emphasized respect and empowerment. Among other things, the Snyder Center had a woodshop class which taught the use of power tools in carpentry.

In her spare time, and after she retired, Rose continued to advocate for justice and compassion in the world. She researched and wrote a children’s book, Friends of All Creatures, about people throughout history who taught compassion for animals. She published a magazine, Harmony, which advocated a consistent ethic of life. Even in the last few years of her life, frail with many health problems, she continued her advocacy: she worked with her church family to convert the site of their earthquake-damaged church into Section 8 housing for disabled adults. Rose was a committed Christian, and appreciated the teachings of other religious paths, especially Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, and the Baha’i faith.

Rose is survived by her children, Anne, John, David, and Valeria Evans. She was a spectacularly loving granny to Rowan Witebsky, Michael Evans, Linden Witebsky, Miranda Evans, and Zachery Evans.

A memorial service for Rose will be held at the Baha’i Center of San Francisco at 170 Valencia St. on Sunday, May 3rd, at 1:00 p.m.