Evan Parel Parker, 45
Instructor and Academic Advisor, Agricultural Machinery Technology programs,
Agricultural Systems and Technology Education Department;
Advisor to USU's Ag Tech Club
Known for his dedication to students, Evan Parker was to receive the "Advisor of the Year" award just days after the accident. A graduate of USU and an instructor at Utah State since 1990, Evan was named the College of Agriculture's "Teacher of the Year" in 1995.
"Evan has changed many lives by helping kids recognize that being a good farmer is a talent," says Neil Creer, a friend who teaches agriculture at Bear River High School. "Countless families across the state are being supported because of Evan."
The Hooper, Utah, native married his high school sweetheart, Tammy, in 1981 following an LDS mission to London, England. They are the parents of six children and grandparents of four.
Friends describe Evan as a person never too busy to help someone in need. He organized an auction to cover the medical costs of a neighboring farmer and, despite a daily 100-mile commute to USU, found time to bring in crops and tend to critical farm chores of families in crisis.
"He always had 10,000 projects going at once," says his son-in-law, Geoff Hasty. "It was almost as if he new he had to squeeze in 90 years in a short amount of time."