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In Loving Memory of

Leonard Evens

Obituary

Leonard (Len) Evens passed away on Thursday, November 12, 2020, at the age of 87 at home in Evanston, Illinois. He was born in New York City on June 28, 1933, and was the only child of his parents Samuel and Esther Evens. He grew up mostly in New York City but lived upstate for three years when his father worked in Albany. When he was a boy, he read extensively in science and mathematics and graduated at the top of his class from Stuyvesant High School in New York. He earned his BS in mathematics from Cornell University in 1955 and was a 1954 Putnam Fellow in mathematics while at Cornell. He earned his PhD in mathematics from Harvard University in 1960. He was married September 13, 1958, to Martha Walton Evens in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was devoted to her for the rest of his life. After Harvard, he was a mathematics instructor at the University of Chicago, and a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and then spent most of his career as a Professor of Mathematics at Northwestern University, and became an Emeritus Professor upon retirement. He was renowned as a world expert in the subject of group cohomology, and his work and book on the subject are commonly cited. He was a member of the American Mathematical Society for most of his career, and was a skilled and determined photographer. He loved classical music and opera, and enjoyed playing the recorder with friends. Later in his career, he became expert in personal computers and helped many of his colleagues set up their computers. He was active in the Evanston Running Club and was an avid runner and bicyclist, and until he declined in health due to Parkinson's disease, greatly enjoyed doing crossword puzzles with Martha. He is survived by his loving wife Martha Evens, and by their children Sarah Evens (married to Stephen Spear) of Skokie, Illinois, Samuel Evens (married to Rachel Rubin) of Chicago and Anne Evens (married to Mark Dunn) of Chicago. He is also survived by his grandchildren Michael Wesolowski, Leah Wesolowski, Natalia Evens de Menezes, Liam Draper Evens, and Alea Rubin Evens. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Parkinson's Foundation of Chicago, 200 SE 1st Street, Suite 800, Miami, Florida 33131, www.parkinson.org/GreaterIllinois or other appropriate charities. To keep everyone safe and healthy, the Memorial service will be private. To attend the funeral live stream Sunday 3PM (CST), please visit www.jrc-evanston.org.
Arrangements by Chicago Jewish Funerals - Skokie Chapel, 847.229.8822, www.cjfinfo.com

Arrangements by Chicago Jewish Funerals. www.chicagojewishfunerals.com

Memorial Events

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Additional Information
The funeral service will be live streamed on Sunday, November 15, 2020 at 03:00 PM Central Time.
LIVE STREAM

Memorial Contribtions

Parkinson's Foundation of Chicago
200 SE 1st Street, Suite 800
Miami, Florida 33131
www.parkinson.org/GreaterIllinois
or
Other appropriate charities

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