Surrounded by his family, Ben Evans, 75, of Madison, MS, passed away peacefully on December 14 after a brief illness. Born on April 10, 1949 in Meridian, MS, he was the son of the late Ben V. Evans Jr. and Virginia Leggett Evans. He proudly served his country in the US Army, Special Forces and retired with the rank of major after 23 years of combined active duty and MS National Guard service with numerous medals and commendations. After retiring from the military, Ben continued serving others as an RN at the VA medical center. Not only did Ben serve his country and veterans, he served his community. He was a volunteer fireman and paramedic with the Madison fire department and he served as a board member for the Ross Barnett Reservoir. Ben was a scuba diver and skydiver. He also loved to travel. Some of his most memorable trips were to Antarctica, Iceland, South America and Europe. Ben is survived by his wife of 55 years, Jan Hegwood Evans, his daughter Sara (Derek) Pope of Dripping Springs, TX and his son, Ben V. Evans IV (Katie) of Nashville, TN. He was the proud “Papaw” to John Wyatt, Charlotte, June, and Emmett Pope. He is also survived by his sister, Cathy Evans Moore (Jim) of Southlake, TX along with a nephew and nieces and numerous friends who will remember him with great fondness, love and respect. He is preceded in death by his parents. A celebration of Ben’s life will be held at a later time.