Evan H. Michie

Evan H. Michie, 72, died Sunday, September 15, 2013, at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center of a massive cerebral hemorrhage. He was born in Provo, Utah, August 25, 1941 to Monroe and Delsa Jane Hardman Michie after a difficult delivery which left him with life-long health issues. Evan was raised in Hanna, Utah until 1957, when his parents and younger brother moved to Montpelier, Idaho. After the death of his father, he lived with his mother in Washington, Utah. For the past twelve years he has been a resident at Great Oaks (formerly The Homestead), an assisted living facility in Rigby, Idaho. Despite his challenges, Evan was cheerful and enjoyed life. He especially enjoyed music and taught himself to play the piano, then the accordion. Later he switched to a keyboard. His vision was severely limited and he was unable to read music, but he had an excellent memory and was able to play songs by ear after he had listened to them. He especially looked forward to accompanying the singing at the sacrament meetings and family home evenings held at Great Oaks. Frequently, volunteers would come to Great Oaks to entertain the residents by singing and playing guitars of other instruments and Even got a great deal of pleasure from those programs. He always called his sister and enthusiastically described those events. He spent many hours listening to CD recordings of hymns and singing to himself along with them. He liked creating elaborate structures with his American Bricks. Even though it was very difficult for him, he spent many hours painstakingly writing down the stories or verses he remembered or made up. He was fascinated with numbers and number combinations and sequences. He decided to write the Roman numerals to 1,000,000. It took him many days, but he completed it. He remembered dates and would call his sister to remind her of the birthdays of her children. Evan always wanted to be useful and he often looked for jobs to do. He was never happier than when he was allowed to clean the stove or wash woodwork. He often said, “I like to help people.” While living in Utah, he was able to do a service mission at Deseret Industries and loved the mundane tasks he was given there. He was a member of the LDS Church and had a testimony and strong desire to “do the right thing.” He is survived by a sister, Coy (Phillip) Harmon, of Rigby, and a brother, Mark (Kaye) Michie, of Kaysville, Utah. He was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, Rex Monroe Michie and John Allan Michie. A memorial service will be held at Great Oaks Assisted Living in Rigby on Wednesday, September 18, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. A graveside service will be held at 10:00 a.m., Friday, September 20, 2013 at Washington City Cemetery in Washington, Utah. Services are under the care of Metcalf Mortuary in St. George, Utah.