Billie Evans

Billie Evans was born in Spearfish, South Dakota, in 1932, to Alan and Claire Evans. He grew up with 2 brothers. During his days in elementary school, Billie remembers the boys always wearing bib overalls and the girls dressed in dyed flour sacks. His favorite memory was going swimming with his classmates. Throughout his childhood, he learned not only at school, but also at home, how to ranch and work livestock. He learned responsibility and how to work hard at a young age. When Billie was only 11 years old, he was left to take care of the 300-acre ranch, while the rest of the men in his family went off to fight in World War II. Throughout his early childhood years, Billie fondly remembers the Sundays the family would go to the movies for only 10¢, grabbing a bottle of pop for 2¢, or getting ice cream and sitting on their car on Main Street while visiting with others in town. As Billie got older, his good work ethic transferred from the ranch to school where he always worked hard to get good grades. During his time in high school, Billie participated in a variety of activities. He played basketball, ran track, and was the quarterback on the football team. He played the trumpet in the band, was the editor of the yearbook, and was the class president, as well as part of the National Honors Society. In 1950, Billie graduated from high school and started college in Fort Collins, Colorado. While he was there, he was part of the ROTC. After only one year, he returned home and finished college at Black Hills State University. Billie finished his college education and settled in Spearfish.

Not too long after, Billie met Eileen and they got married in 1958. They had 3 sons, Michael, Robert, and Scott. Billie says that Eileen was a wonderful wife and mother, and even though she didn’t love the ranch she learned a lot. Together they raised their children to stay in line, respect others, and how to work hard. Some of Billie’s proudest moments were seeing his 3 sons graduate. After his first wife passed away, Billie met and married Dixie Raber. In 1985 they joined their two families and always enjoyed getting everyone together. Billie started an insurance company in 1969 and worked there for 28 years. In 1983, he helped start the first hospice in Spearfish and was also responsible for helping start Prairie Hills Transit. Billie says that out of everything he has done, ranching is his favorite. If you were to ask him why he likes working on the ranch, he would say he enjoys being outdoors, working with animals, and it fills him with a sense of satisfaction that he is helping others. Riding horses into the timber to gather cattle has been one of the most interesting things in his life. The ranch has been a major part of his life since the day he was born- he still lives in the room he was born in. Life on the ranch has changed a lot from when he was a child. Growing up, there was no water on the homestead. They had to use barrels of water to bathe. The family would share one barrel on bath day, taking turns going from youngest to oldest. While Billie has been officially retired for 27 years, he can still be found on the ranch. He enjoys fishing and building the occasional fence. Even though he sticks close to home now, Billie has been known to travel the world. He has been to all 50 states in the United States and has enjoyed deep sea fishing in Mexico. Billie has deep roots in the Black Hills. His grandfather, Robert Evans came to Spearfish in 1876 from Ireland. Robert came looking for gold but ended up staying and becoming one of the first residents of Spearfish. Robert Evans was the first person to have a land claim in the area, claiming a total of 160 acres for his family ranch.