Evan H. Bliss '00

Evan H. Bliss '00, on August 17, 2012, of a pulmonary embolism. The Bethesda, Maryland, man was thirty-five.

Evan was an English major. He joined Beta Theta Pi. He played lacrosse, leading the team to a North Coast Athletic Conference championship and NCAA tournament berth. He set Kenyon lacrosse records for most goals in a season (59) and a career (140).

Evan worked for the Henry Jackson Foundation on the data-management team, conducting HIV/AIDS research. He had returned from a work trip to Kenya shortly before he died. From 2010-12, Evan and his wife, Mary, lived in Nicaragua, where Mary worked for USAID. Evan had previously worked as a sound engineer for Omega Recording Studios.

He was a prolific songwriter, an accomplished singer, and a guitarist who performed with several bands, most prominently the Low Life, which toured nationally and regularly sold out the Washington, D.C., 9:30 Club, the Washington Post reported. "It was his voice that made people stop and pay attention-a bright, soaring tenor that could caress a song and keep ringing in your ear," the newspaper said. The Post linked Evan's death to long-distance travel on August 10-11 that included 16 hours in the air, flying from Kenya to the Netherlands to Washington. A blood clot apparently migrated from his lower body to an artery in a lung, the newspaper said. "The doctor said Evan was in perfect physical shape," his father, Donald Bliss, told the Post. "Nothing else was wrong with him."

The Post called him "a young man of golden promise." He developed a "distinctive, eclectic sound that blended pop, indie rock, world music, and coffeehouse soul."

Evan also wrote a weekly Washington Post sports blog on the Washington Redskins. He enjoyed reading and was an engaging conversationalist known for a quick wit and graceful humor.

His brother, Bion Bliss, said, "You're always kind of in awe of your older brother. He was completely unparalleled in how true he was to himself. Evan, as my father says, was the least phony person you would ever know."

In a note to the College, Evan's former Kenyon roommate David Houston '00 mentioned his friend's success as a musician, noting his popularity in Washington and New York City. "Evan touched a lot of people's lives," Houston said. "In my mind, he was quintessentially Kenyon-a very gifted person who, despite his gifts, was very humble and just wanted to leave a positive impact on the larger world. Those in the classes around 2000 are just devastated."

The lyrics to Evan's song I'm Fine With It were read at his funeral, including the words:

"I want to climb up a mountain and stare at all the specks on the ground. I want to run through the forest and lay in the shade till the sun goes down. And if that's all there is, and there's nothing else, I'm fine with it."

Evan was survived by his wife; parents Donald and Nancy Bliss; his brother; and grandmother, Bette Arnold. Gifts in his name may be sent to Children's International Summer Villages, P.O. Box 5670, Washington, D.C., 20016.