Leroy Evrard ’55

Leroy Evrard, Commander USN (Retired), of Topsham, Bowdoinham, and Harpswell, Maine, passed away November 12, 2025 at the age of 91. Roy, as he was known to his friends and colleagues, lived independently with his wife, Jean, until he reached the age of 90 and was challenged by advanced cancer. He lived a full life and contributed greatly to his family, his country and his profession.

Roy was born in 1934 in Brunswick, Maine, to Olave and Clifton Evrard of Topsham. He loved being outdoors as a child, hunting with his dad, skiing and skating with friends, and playing baseball at school. His passion for baseball would last his entire life, seldom missing a pitch of his beloved Boston Red Sox in retirement. Roy was a very capable craftsman and mechanic and would have been content working in a garage or workshop, but toward the end of his high school days he was encouraged to consider college and an engineering career. He graduated from Brunswick High School in 1952 and was accepted to one of the very early classes of Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Maine.

Roy excelled in college, graduating in 1955 at the top of his class in marine engineering. He married Jean Hilton in 1954, who he met and dated shortly after graduating from high school, and they welcomed their first child in 1955. Upon graduation Roy shipped out with the merchant marine before receiving his commission in the U.S. Navy where he completed flight school and became a Naval aviator. He excelled as a pilot and became a flight instructor and carrier pilot among his many assignments in the service. Roy served on more than 6 different aircraft carriers during the 1950s and ‘60s, ultimately being elevated to the Admiral’s Staff of the Sixth Fleet based in Mayport, FL, where he ended his active-duty career after 12 years of service.

By 1967 Roy and Jean had seven children and they moved the family back to Maine to be nearer other family and to start Roy’s next career as an Engineer with Bath Iron Works (BIW). They bought a home in Topsham not far from where he grew up. Roy and Jean introduced their children to the outdoors as a family with all nine involved in camping and skiing and the occasional Red Sox game in Boston. They moved to Bowdoinham in 1971 where they lived until their retirement in 1995. Their home on Millay Road offered more space for their active family and Roy gained a working garage where he managed to keep a small fleet of cars running and available to a growing number of new drivers as their kids grew up.

Roy worked for BIW for over 25 years, retiring in 1995. During this second career he worked as a guarantee engineer and was recognized for his contribution to several critical shipbuilding programs, including the FFG, DDG and Aegis programs. He was instrumental in helping to integrate computer assisted design into the engineering department at “the yard”. While working at BIW Roy complimented his years of active-duty military service with 9 additional years in the Navy Reserve from which he retired as a Commander. He continued to fly out of South Weymouth, Massachusetts one weekend a month, and later was a leader in the Portland chapter of the Navy’s Sea Cadet program.

Toward the end of his time at BIW he was selected to support a government contract in Kaoshung, Taiwan, as a technical advisor for a series of BIW-designed ships being built by the Taiwanese Government. Jean and Roy spent two years in Asia as a team, exploring the region and building life-long friendships with other ex-pats living in the area, and shared their home and travel with family able to make the trip to Taiwan. Roy retired soon after their return from Taiwan and together they built new homes in Harpswell, Maine and in Summerfield, Florida, officially becoming “snowbirds.”

In retirement the travel bug bit Jean and Roy hard, and they explored the world visiting family and friends until they were both in their 80s. The Evrards took advantage of military “space available” flights offered to retirees to travel to Europe to see their son, Stacey, and his family and to explore more of Italy, Spain, Sweden, France and Germany. In retirement Roy played softball, took up golf, and became an active grandfather and great grandfather. He continued to research and buy used cars until he was 90 and maintained his cars himself into his 70s. The Evrards migrated between their two homes until they moved permanently to Maine in 2022. They were able to live independently in their own home until the summer of 2025.

Roy is survived by his wife of 71 years, Jean, and his 7 children, 14 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren: Steven and Claire Evrard of Gorham and their children Vanessa (Carville) and Paul; Sharon Trott of Topsham and her children Nathan, Shana (Pratt), and Sami-Jo (Treadwell); Suzanne and Ted Davis of Brownington, VT and their children, Nikki, Christina (Biesadecki), Alex and Danielle; Scott and Julie Evrard of Newmarket, NH; Sandra and Scott Allen of Bailey Island and their children Josh and Katie (Kenney); Stacey and Mari Evrard of Munich, Germany and their children Marc, Tessa and Anthony; and Sam and Carmen Evrard of Poland Spring. He was also blessed with 15 great-grandchildren: Liam and Sophia Carville; Brayden and Conner Pratt; Camden Treadwell; Bryson and Garrett Dodge; Charlotte and Evelyn Biesadecki; Mac Stewart; Julianna, Addison and Kinsley Allen; Miles and Macy Kenney. He is also survived by his sisters, Joanne Gerow and Diane Lombard, as well as many nieces and nephews.

Along with his parents, in-laws, several sisters and brothers-in-law, Roy was preceded in death by his sister Carol Larrabee and son-in-law Roger Trott.

The extended Evrard family would like to thank all of the amazing people who cared for Roy during the last few months of his life, including the great hospice team at CHANS/MaineHealth, Dr. Christopher Meserve and his amazing staff in Topsham, Dr. David Benton and the wonderful team at New England Cancer Specialists in Topsham, and the caring and kind staff at Sunnybrook Senior Living who were there through all of it and often went above and beyond to care for Roy and Jean.