Evans received several awards from the Western Writers of America and was inducted into the WWA Hall of Fame in 2015.
[4] He enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II and participated in the Normandy landings in 1944.
After the war, he returned to New Mexico to find that the traditional cowboy way of life with which he was familiar was dying out.
[1] He moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1967 and lived there for the rest of his life.
Evans was known for his storytelling abilities and colorful personality and had several notable friends including director Sam Peckinpah, who gave him a small role in the 1970 film The Ballad of Cable Hogue.