Delmar Evans

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Delmar Evans was born on April 24, 1950, in Brooklyn, New York — and from the very beginning, he was the kind of man the world needed more of. He carried with him a joy so natural and so generous that every room he entered became warmer for it. He loved out loud, with open arms, a kiss on your cheek, and a name only he could give you.

He made Raleigh, North Carolina his home, where he built a life worthy of the man he was. He served his community through careers with Amtrak and the City of Raleigh Sanitation Division, where he was honored as Laborer Employee of the Year in 1992. But it was the winter of 1984 that revealed the full measure of Delmar Evans.

On the evening of February 8, 1984, two young girls fell into an icy stream in Baltimore trying to save their dog. Without hesitation — without a single thought for his own safety — Delmar entered that freezing water. He pulled one girl to safety and was breaking through the encasing ice with his bare hands to reach the second when emergency responders arrived. Two lives were saved that night because of him.

For his extraordinary courage, Delmar received the Amtrak President’s Award for Valor, the Baltimore City Distinguished Civilian Award, a Citizen Citation from the Mayor of Baltimore, a Resolution from the City Council of Baltimore, recognition from the Coalition of Black Maryland State Troopers, and a personal letter of commendation from President Ronald Reagan. He never boasted about any of it. That was Delmar.

In August 2023, he was baptized at Christian Faith Baptist Church in Raleigh, under the leadership of Pastor Keith A. Darlington — a public declaration of a faith he had quietly carried his whole life.

No chapter of Delmar’s story shone brighter than his love for Charleen. On July 29, 1972 — when Delmar was just 22 years old — he made a promise, and he kept it every single day for 54 years. Fifty-four years of laughter and dancing, of devotion without condition, of a love that never once dimmed. Charleen was not just his wife. She was his heart walking beside him.

He leaves to cherish his memory his mother, Roxana Evans, who loved him first and holds him still in the sacred place memory cannot touch; his devoted and beloved wife, Charleen M. Evans, his partner, his promise, and his heart for 54 years; his sons, Delmar Charles Evans Jr. (Mavis) and Damon Evans (Katie); his grandchildren, Michelle Girgis (Mark), Lynnette Atienza, Delmar C. Evans III (Destiny), Darius Evans, Damon Evans Jr., Jasmine Evans, and Elijah Evans; and two grandchildren loved not by blood but by the fullness of his heart, Briyanna Carter and Malik Goods. He also leaves his sister, Linda Cutler; his brother, Stanley Evans Jr.; his sisters in love, Florence Batine and Constance Cofield; along with a treasure of great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and a host of family and friends whose lives he touched beyond measure.

He was preceded in death by his father, Stanley Evans, and his sister in love, Cheryl Fellers.

Delmar Evans danced like joy was his gift to the world. He saw people — truly saw them — and made sure they knew it. He had a name for everyone he loved, and if you were lucky enough to receive one, you carried it like something precious.

He loved without conditions, without measure, without end. And he was loved just the same

Public Viewing:  12:00 PM - 7:00 PM, Thursday, June 11, 2026 at Lea Funeral Home, 2500 Poole Road, Raleigh, NC.

Funeral Service:  12:00 PM, Friday, June 12, 2026 at Christian Faith Baptist Church, 509 Hilltop Drive, Raleigh, NC.

Visitation:  11:00 AM - 12:00 PM, preceding the funeral service at the church.

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