Aventura City Commissioner Jonathan Evans dies after prolonged illness
Aventura City Commissioner Jonathan Evans has died at the age of 72, the city announced Monday morning.
Evans passed away overnight after a prolonged illness.
“Our city mourns the loss of a wonderful human being, public servant, and friend,” Aventura Mayor Enid Weisman said in a statement. “Jonathan Evans brought intellect, wit, and care to his role as a commissioner and brightened all our lives. We will all miss him dearly.”
Evans was elected to the commission in November 2020 without opposition. He served in Seat 3.
The city will hold a special election to fill Evans’ commission seat, which is restricted to residents who live south of the William Lehman Causeway. The commission will determine a date for the election next month.
Evans became ill this past November and went into a coma before emerging and showing signs of improvement in recent weeks, the city said. His condition then took a sudden turn for the worse.
His loved ones will remember him “for his kindness, generosity, and dry British humor and wit,” the city said.
Evans grew up in Birmingham, England, before moving to Boston, where he taught math and coached soccer at a private school in Cambridge. He became an avid fan of New England sports teams.
Evans did “pioneer research” at MIT in the early 1970s in the field of metallurgy, which involves the properties of metals, according to his bio on the Florida International University website. After moving to Aventura in 1998 with his wife, Jo-An, Evans served as chairman of the Vice Provost’s Council at FIU, contributing and raising funds for a program that provides scholarships to first-generation college students.
Before he joined the Aventura commission, Evans chaired the city’s Advisory Board for Community Services and was president of the “Lunch Bunch of Aventura,” a group that met periodically to socialize.
Evans also served on his condo association and property owners’ association boards on Aventura’s Williams Island. He often posted photographs on Facebook of the striking Miami skyline view from his home.
“Wonderful moon in paradise!” Evans captioned a photo last May.
This story was originally published February 14, 2022 at 11:39 AM.
