Thomas Cooper "Cooper" Evans was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on May 26, 1924. He graduated from Grundy Center High School in Grundy Center, Iowa, in 1942. He then went to the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, graduating with a degree in history and economics (1948). Evans also graduated from Iowa State University with a B.S. (1949) in mechanical engineering and a M.S. (1955) in civil engineering. After his time at Iowa State, he attended and graduated from the Oak Ridge School of Reactor Technology (1956) and the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (1962).

Evans served in the United States Army Infantry (1943-1946) and in the Corps of Engineers as lieutenant colonel (1949-1965). He was also a farmer and was president of Evans Farms, Inc. from 1965-1980. He also served on the Grundy County Board of Property Tax Review (1968-1974). In addition, Evans served as director of Advanced Manned Lunar Missions for NASA in the early 1960s. He was founding director of the Hawkeye Institute of Technology, served as commissioner of the Grundy County Memorial Hospital and as assistant commissioner of the Grundy County Soil Conservation District. Evans was also president of the Grundy Center Development Corporation.

Evans served in the Iowa House of Representatives (1975-1979) and as a delegate at state Republican conventions (1966-1978). In 1980, he was elected to the Ninety-seventh Congress as a Republican for Iowa's third district. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1981-1987. During this time, he served on the House Committee on Agriculture, including the Department Operations, Research and Foreign Agriculture subcommittee and the Wheat, Soybeans and Feed Grains Subcommittee; the Select Committee on Aging, including the Retirement Income and Employment Subcommittee, and the Technology Assessment Board.

After his terms in Congress, he returned to farming. He also served as Advisor to the President of the United States (George H.W. Bush) for Agriculture and Agricultural Businessmen. In addition, Evans was the senior member of Evans and Associates (agricultural policy consultants) from 1987-1989.



Evans married Jean Marie Ruppelt in 1948, and they had three sons: Jim, Charlie, and Edward. Thomas Cooper Evans died in Grundy Center on December 22, 2005.