James Frederick Evans III, 69, a lifelong resident of Cazenovia, passed away from heart failure on Jan. 16, 2023. The eldest child of James Frederick Evans, Jr., and Barbara Bradshaw Evans, Jim was born April 8, 1953. After graduation from Cazenovia High School in 1971, he attended Harvard University where he earned his A.B. (cum laude) in 1973. Crossing the Charles River, he received his Doctor of Jurisprudence from Boston College in 1980. While in law school, he was editor of the Uniform Code Digest from 1979 to 1980. Following law school, Jim joined Robert P. Rothman P.C. in Syracuse. He bought the firm in 2015.
In 1981, he married Mary Selden Metz, whom he met at Harvard. They were married in St. Mary’s by the Sea, Northeast Harbor, Maine. They returned to Maine for many years to celebrate their anniversary. Jim and Mary achieved a rich fulfillment together and rarely has a couple been so perfectly matched. Jim had a riotous and contagious laugh. It was memorably displayed when he played Friar Tuck in a Harvard stage production of Robin Hood and remained a lifelong trait.
Jim had a lifelong passion for music and the piano. He performed his original compositions in recitals for family and friends and made annual trips to Middlebury, Vermont to play for his godmother, Phyllis Demong. In recent years he expanded his repertoire to include the harpsichord. Jim had a wide-ranging intellect and love of stimulating conversation, music, literature and theater. He was a natural and highly impressive polymath whose enthusiasms included Hegel, opera, Keats, P. G. Wodehouse, The Avengers and high-end British and American comedy films. He loved attending Glimmerglass with Mary in the summer for opera and Broadway musicals. He also attended numerous Van Cliburn competitions with his friend and piano teacher, Pat DeAngelis.
Jim spent his summers at Mariaville Lake, Mariaville, N.Y. Those summers were filled with laughter and fun with his family, grandparents and 11 cousins at their multi-generational summer house.
His love of Cazenovia and its environs was central to Jim. His long service to the Cazenovia Preservation Foundation, including a stint as president, was the best expression of this dedication. Jim was also a member of The Cazenovia Club, Willow Bank Yacht Club and the Harvard Club.
Jim is survived by Mary, his wife of 41 years; sister Margaret Evans Lane of Cazenovia; brother Bradshaw Allen Evans (Shawna) of Barrington, Rhode Island; nieces Elizabeth Lane (Richard Fraschilla); Emily Lane-Meija (Piero); Samantha Evans; nephews Christopher Lane and Bradshaw Evans; and two great nieces Lucie Charlotte Mejia and Madeline Evans Fraschilla; Mary’s sisters, Helen Winchester Metz and Grace Chapin Metz (Christopher Hunton).
The family suggests that those who wish to make donations in Jim’s memory kindly consider the Cazenovia Volunteer Ambulance Corps (CAVAC), cavacambulance.org/donate.
A celebration of Jim’s life will be held at a later date. Condolences for Jim’s family may be left at michaelebrownfuneralservices.com.
