[2] Evans was considered a potential candidate for vice president of the United States during his time as governor, but was never chosen.

He did not see combat; he was deployed to the Pacific Ocean shortly after the end of World War II, as a commissioned ensign on a succession of aircraft carriers, before returning to UW in 1946.

[4] He returned to the United States Navy (1951–1953)[3] before working as a structural engineer[3][4] (1953–1956); in the latter capacity, he helped draw up the plans for the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

Jay Inslee joined both Langlie and Evans, becoming the third Washington governor to serve three terms with his re-election victory in 2020.

Gerald Ford considered nominating him for the vice presidency in 1974, after he succeeded Nixon mid-term, and as a possible running mate for the 1976 election.

[3][13] He was unhappy during his tenure in the Senate, writing in a 1988 column in The New York Times Magazine that "debate has come to consist of set speeches read before a largely empty chamber" and adding that he felt demoralized by "bickering and protracted paralysis".

[5][14] Evans voted in favor of the Passage of Martin Luther King Jr. Day establishing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday, and the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 (as well as to override President of the United States Ronald Reagan's veto).

[20] On January 26, 2024, his wife of 64 years, Nancy Ann Evans died at age 90 of breast cancer.

[12][22][23] Evans was a Boy Scout whose early experiences hiking in the Olympic Mountains nurtured a life-long love of wilderness.

As governor, he persuaded U.S. President Gerald Ford to sign a 1976 legislation creating the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, when the United States Forest Service was urging a veto.

[24] Evans sponsored the million-acre Washington Park Wilderness Act as a U.S. senator, and legislation creating the national scenic area in the Columbia River Gorge.