By Lauren FitzPatrick
Staff writer
Peter Evans was a charming sort of guy, which served him well over the 30 years he drove a cab.
Blue eyes, warm smile and a foreign accent you’d better not call British made him very popular among his regular fares.
But his utter selflessness endeared him even more to those he met in and out of his cab.
“You always feel like you’re helping people out when you pick them up and take them where they want to go,” said his friend and colleague of 25 years, Mike Cassidy.
Over nearly 30 years behind the wheel, regular patrons depended on him, especially elderly folks, Cassidy said.
“He never let them down.”
His son, Sean Evans, said he always took care of those around him.
“Everybody else came first,” he said. “He always put himself last.”
Mr. Evans died Feb. 28 at age 62.
Born April 15, 1942, Mr. Evans was one of four children who grew up in Ramsey, the second largest town on the Isle of Man.
He was a true Manxman — not a Brit, neither English nor Scottish nor Irish, Cassidy said. The Isle of Man is a 227 square mile sovereign island in the Irish Sea.
And Evans never lost his accent.
“You’d tease him by calling him a ‘bloody limey’ and it’d get his goat,” Cassidy said. “He liked to tease — he was fun to be around.”
Mr. Evans had a rocky childhood, so at 16, he joined the merchant marine to sail the seas.
During his tour, his ship docked in Chicago, where he met a girl, fell in love and got married, Cassidy said
In the early years, the Evans family settled on Chicago’s South Side around 87th Street and 55th Court, where they had their two sons, Frankie and Sean.
It was there Mr. Evans found Standard Cab, which was up 87th Street at Major, and is now known as Burbank Standard Cab.
“He was just doing it for a side job,” said Sean Evans, who also has worked for the company. Driving cabs was a second job to earn extra money for Mr. Evans’ family — and work he completely enjoyed.
“He always took care of whatever we needed,” Evans said.
He would pick up fares, dispatch calls and hire new drivers.
The one thing he would not do was fire anyone, Cassidy said.
Mr. Evans also worked full time as a warehouseman at National Tea in Oak Lawn. Eventually, he built a house on the same block as the company, Cassidy said.
Mr. Evans was loyal to those he loved, be they blood relatives or baseball players.
Despite his South Side address, he loved his Chicago Cubs — “regardless of how the season was going,” Evans explained.
He also did the crossword puzzle every day.
But mostly, he loved the cab business, Cassidy and Evans said.
He enjoyed the camaraderie and chatting up his fares. He liked knowing people could count on him to get where they were going.
“He enjoyed what he did so much that he did it right up until he died — without stopping, so much so it probably cost him his life,” Cassidy said. “He wouldn’t take time off to take care of himself. He thought other
people needed him more.”
Mr. Evans is survived by his sons, Sean and Petey, his longtime partner, Mary Trudo; granddaughters Katie and Christie; and stepsons Johnny, Bill and Steve.
Arrangements were by Kenny Brothers Funeral Home, (773) 239-3600 or (708) 425-4500.
