Joel T. Evers

Joel Evers 1940-2024

 Joel died peacefully at home December 9, 2024 after a battle with cancer. He was 84 years old. 

 Born in 1940 to Mary Louise (Franz) Evers and John A. Evers in Freeport Illinois. Joel graduated from Freeport High School in 1958. After high school he attended UW-Platteville for a year then returned to Freeport where he worked for Freeport Glass Company and as a draftsman at Micro Switch. 

 Joel was a military policeman in the US Army from 1963 to 1965, stationed at Fort Davis in the Panama Canal zone. Upon discharge from the Army he returned to Freeport, enrolled at Highland Community college and later returned to UW-Platteville where he enrolled in Geology. Joel and Audrey Lynn Heitritter were married in Pearl City Illinois in 1967. After graduation from UW-Platteville in 1970, Joel and Audrey moved to Hoyt Lakes MN where he had accepted a job with Erie Mining Company as a geologist. He worked for the mining company through its different ownerships for 30 years, including as a site representative in the Amazon River basin in Brazil in the early 1980's. He retired in 2000. 

 Joel and Audrey spent 15 winters in Bozeman Montana, where they made many new friends while golfing and going on birding adventures. Among Joel's many passions were golfing with friends, studying geology, being Audrey's chauffeur on adventures to find birds and trips to Road America in his Mazda RX-7. 

 Joel is survived by his wife Audrey of Hoyt Lakes, MN and his son Joseph of Overland Park, KS. The family will hold a memorial service in the spring of 2025 in Hoyt Lakes.