Background
Julius Evans was from San Francisco and married Sandra Evans, also a San Francisco native. The Evans’ had three children Sonya, Sharla, and Shirella. According to an interview Sonya Evans had with the FBI, the family had been a part of Peoples Temple for four years at the time of November 18th, 1978. This meant that the Evans were married and all of their children were born before they entered Peoples Temple. There are varying reports about the actual age of Julius and Sandra Evans, but various news sources all agree that they were in their 30’s at the time of the mass-suicide. It is unclear if the parents of Julius or Sandra were a part of Peoples Temple.
Life in Jonestown
Julius, Sandra, and their three children moved to Jonestown about seven months before November 18th, 1978 according to Sonya, their oldest daughter. In an interview with the FBI, one survivor stated that both Julius and Sandra were a part of the medical staff at Jonestown. The children were separated from Julius and Sandra in Guyana, instead living with children their own age. Sonya described her schooling as language centric, with a strong preference for Russian. Sonya also stated in this interview that “her parents wanted to return to the United States” (Serial 1207-9), but were to afraid to do so until November 18th, 1978. On the day of the mass-suicides, the Evans family told Jones and the Planning Committee that they were going to go on a picnic along with five others, including Richard Clark and Leslie Wagner-Wilson.
Life After Jonestown
After leaving Jonestown, the family was interviewed by the FBI. All members of the family are still alive as of 2022, expect for the father, Julius Evans. Julius Evans died in 2004.
Sources
McGehee, Fielding. “Evans/Muldrow Family Tree.” Alternative Considerations of Jonestown Peoples Temple, The Department of Religious Studies at SDSU, https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=35751.
“Serial 1207-9.” Alternative Considerations of Jonestown Peoples Temple, The Department of Religious Studies at SDSU, https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=91430.
“Serial 1305-4.” Alternative Considerations of Jonestown Peoples Temple, The Department of Religious Studies at SDSU, https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=91817.
“Six Jonestown Survivors Are Flown to New York.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 3 Dec. 1978, https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1978/12/03/six-jonestown-survivors-are-flown-to-new-york/fbed11fd-4d41-4aac-aa23-00c12c164c01/.
Treaster, Joseph B. “6 Guyana Survivors Arrive at Kennedy.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 3 Dec. 1978, https://www.nytimes.com/1978/12/03/archives/6-guyana-survivors-arrive-at-kennedy-cult-members-met-by-fbi-and.html.
“Who Has Died since 18 November 1978?” Alternative Considerations of Jonestown Peoples Temple, The Department of Religious Studies at SDSU, https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=37995.
“Who Was in the Group That Left Jonestown to Go on a ‘Picnic’ the Morning of November 18th?” Alternative Considerations of Jonestown Peoples Temple, The Department of Religious Studies at SDSU, https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=35411.