Nancy Ann Bell Evans

Born: March 21, 1933, Spokane, Washington

Education: Whitman College, B.A. Music, 1954; Graduate work, Eastern Washington State College, 1956-57

Professional career: Music teacher and librarian, Shoreline School District, North Seattle, 1954-59; first lady of Washington State, 1965-77.

Married: Daniel J. Evans, June 6, 1959; three children: Daniel Jackson Evans Jr., born Nov. 25, 1960; Mark Lawrence Evans, Sept. 20, 1963; Bruce McKay Evans, Aug. 21, 1966

Notably: At 31, the youngest first lady in Washington state history, 1965; founded the Governor's Mansion Foundation, 1972, to secure appropriate furnishings and artwork; championed the successful restoration and expansion of the mansion, 1974; co-founder of the Governor's Festival of the Arts, Olympia, 1966; Nancy Bell Evans Center on Nonprofits & Philanthropy chartered by the University of Washington, 2004, to recognize her decades of achievement on multiple fronts; new hybrid rhododendron named in her honor, 1977.

Other activities: 30 years of service to Whitman College, including overseer, 1973-88; overseer emeritus, 1988-94; trustee, 1994-2008; board member, Seattle Symphony Orchestra and Benaroya Hall; board member, KCTS, Seattle affiliate of Public Broadcasting System; co-founder of the Friends of Cancer Lifeline; active with Northwest Parkinson's Foundation; founding trustee, Planned Parenthood of Olympia; former trustee, State Capital Museum.

Awards: The Gordon Scribner Award for Distinguished Service to Whitman College, 2009; Medal of Achievement, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 2001; First Citizen Award, the Seattle-King County Association of Realtors, 2003; Legacy Award, the Rainier Institute, 2004.