evans was born on november 10, 1933, in st. francis, kansas. his parents were clarence ellwin evans (1911–1985) and marie a. evans (; 1913–1992). he had two siblings, larry joe evans (1935–1951) and jay evans. he was active in the boy scouts of america. he achieved its second highest rank, life scout. he graduated from highland park high school in topeka, kansas in 1951. he received a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from the university of kansas in 1956. he received a master of science degree in aeronautical engineering from the u.s. naval postgraduate school in 1964. he was a member of tau beta pi, society of sigma xi, and sigma nu.