Evan Rhys Powell

Evan R. Powell passed away January 31, 2026. He is survived by his children Madelyn, Kathleen, and Evan L. (Erika) and granddaughter Elizabeth. 

Evan R. was born in Princeton, NJ. His family moved shortly after to France. They returned to the United States in 1939. His father, Richard Chew Powell, died in 1946. His mother Clare Davis Powell then married Charles Lafayette Todd. There are photos of Lafe Todd teaching Evan how to fly fish on the roof of their apartment building in New York City. 

Evan served in the US Army for five years. He met his wife Gleam Swanson while she was a student at Swarthmore. They were married in the US Naval Academy Chapel in Philadelphia. They started their family, and Evan finished his doctorate at Temple University. When an opportunity came to join the faculty in Educational Psychology at the University of Georgia, the young family moved to Athens, GA. 

The family enjoyed many activities like hiking on the weekends. There were always music, soccer, and academic decathlon activities. Evan cut up a lot of oranges for the soccer teams. Evan and Gleam enjoyed going to Georgia Gymdogs meets and Bulldog football games. Because their parents lived in California (Gleam’s) and upstate New York and Connecticut (Evan’s), there were many adventuresome car trips to see family. Gleam passed away in 2006. 

Evan loved teaching at the university and retired in 2007. He served as Graduate Coordinator in his department, and modeled cooperative learning in his teaching. He was responsible for teaching the foundational course in educational psychology and taught thousands of pre-service teachers over the course of his career. 

More recently he had great times visiting his son’s family in California. He enjoyed his French group class and their trip to France (Lyon). He enjoyed playing bridge, going to concerts at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music and the Performing Arts Center, and participating in the St. Gregory’s men’s group. 

A Burial service will be held at St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church, 3195 Barnett Shoals Road, Athens, GA, 30605, on Sunday, February 22, at 4:00 pm. 

The family thanks the Piedmont Athens Regional ICU nurses, doctors, and staff, for their care. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church.