Tony Evers’ Family: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

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Tony Evers, the man vying to become Wisconsin’s new governor, is the married father of three and a grandfather. He was inspired by his father’s unusual career to enter public service.

Evers, a Democrat, is the Wisconsin state Schools Superintendent who is challenging incumbent Governor Scott Walker. Walker gained national recognition for his controversial collective bargaining reforms and survived a contentious recall and failed run for president.

Tony Evers has led in most polls, although one recent poll showed the race was a dead heat. All of that has some people wondering more about the family of Tony Evers, the man who might be the next governor of Wisconsin.

Here’s what you need to know:


1. Tony Evers’ Father Ran a Sanitarium & His Mother Was a Nurse

FacebookKathy Evers, Tony Evers’ wife.

Tony Evers’ father had an unusual career. He ran a tuberculosis sanitarium. Evers’ mother was a nurse, according to Mother Jones.

“He credits them with infusing him with a spirit of social justice, which is why he went into education,” the magazine reports. The New Yorker reports that Evers’ dad was named Raymond, and the state sanitarium that he ran was called Rocky Knoll.

Some of the patients in it were plumbing factory workers suffering from a condition called “silicosis,” and Evers recalled to the New Yorker how his father testified on those workers’ behalf when they were seeking benefits.

“It was about social justice,” Evers said to The New Yorker. “He was on call twenty-four hours a day; he saw every patient every single day. He could have gone into private practice, but he didn’t. He decided to be a county employee and work with people who struggled. I learned a lot from watching that.”

According to The Chippewa Herald, Evers is the son of “a physician who ran a Sheboygan County tuberculosis sanitarium.” The newspaper says that Evers himself “scraped mold off of cheese in Plymouth cheese factories before earning three degrees in science, education and administration from UW-Madison.”

Dr. Raymond H. Evers died at age 86 in 2006, according to his obituary. The obituary, which ran on Pantagraph.com, says that Raymond Evers was the son of Anton and Nellie Riordan Evers and married Jean Gorrow in Chicago in 1943. The couple moved to Plymouth, Wisconsin, where Tony Evers was raised, in 1950; Raymond Evers retired in 1982, according to the obit. He was described as a member of a Catholic church who loved boating and traveling with family.

The obituary says that Tony Evers is one of three sons. The others were described in the obit as Raymond “Mike” (Barbara Papish) Evers of Beverly, Mass. and Mark (Jeanne McGee) Evers of Vancouver.

Tony’s mom, Jean Gorrow Evers, died four years after her husband, her obit in the Sheboygan Sun says. She was 90. “She was the daughter and only child of Mark and Bernice Maas Gorrow. Her father was a boat captain who plied the rivers of eastern Wisconsin. She enjoyed telling about adventures on her father’s boat. After high school, following the early deaths of both parents, she entered the Cook County School of Nursing in Chicago, where she graduated in the early 1940s,” says the obit.

She and friends opened a gift shop and restaurant in Plymouth called Country Crafts.


2. Tony Evers Met His Wife, Kathy, in Kindergarten

Tony Evers is married, and his wife’s name is Kathy Evers. Kathy and Tony Evers go way back – to kindergarten class in tiny Plymouth, Wisconsin. That’s a town of about 8,400 people that’s located in Sheboygan County. According to Tony Evers’ campaign biography, he met his wife in kindergarten class in that town.

“Some of the most meaningful moments in my life happened in the classroom. I met my wife Kathy in Mrs. Potter’s kindergarten class in my hometown of Plymouth, Wisconsin,” wrote Evers.

Evers then described his other notable classroom experiences; “My first job was teaching science in Baraboo. Before becoming State Superintendent, I was a high school principal in Tomah, and I ran school districts in Oakfield and Verona,” his campaign biography says.


3. Tony Evers Has Three Children & Seven Grandchildren

Tony Evers has a family of five; his wife, Kathy, and their three children. He discusses how their children attended public schools in his campaign biography. “I’m not only an educator – I’m also a parent. My three kids attended public schools in communities around the state. No matter where the Evers family ended up, we were welcomed by the community,” the biography notes.

Evers and his wife also have seven grandchildren. According to his DPI bio, “Born and raised in Plymouth, Wisconsin, Dr. Evers graduated from Plymouth High School and earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree in educational administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Evers is married to his high school sweetheart, Kathy, an educator. They are parents of three adult children, all public school graduates, and have seven grandchildren.”

Tony Evers wrote on Facebook, “While campaign life gets a little hectic sometimes, family must always come first. I enjoy every single moment I get to spend with Kathy, my kids and grandkids.”

A story in the Green Bay Press Gazette explains that Tony Evers is a cancer survivor and mentions that his daughter with Kathy – Erin – is a doctor.

“She said, ‘You have to get rid of this,'” Evers recalled of the cancer, which was cancer of the esophagus. “We decided the most aggressive way to deal with it was to have surgery — it’s essentially like rough carpentry. They cut it out, pull it out, and there you go. And, thank God, we did — it worked.”

The couple’s other children are named Nick and Katie.


4. Evers & His Wife Had Their First Date at Prom & He Says She’s His Best Friend

Although they met in kindergarten, Evers and his wife Kathy did not become a couple until their first date – at their junior prom.

On June 8, 2018, Tony Evers wrote on Facebook, “Happy #NationalBestFriendsDay to my wife, Kathy. We met in kindergarten, our first date was Junior Prom and you’ve been my best friend and the love of my life ever since!”

Former Vice President Joe Biden brought the kindergarten meeting lore to center stage when he stumped for Evers and brought Kathy on stage to tell the tale.

He joked that Evers “owes a lot to Wisconsin’s public schools” because of how he met Kathy and then joked, “She was too young to resist,” The Cap Times reported.

The campaign has highlighted Kathy Evers in a “Women for Tony” effort, writing, “Please join Kathy Evers in building a network of women around the state who care about public education, affordable healthcare, a clean and safe environment and common decency in government. Tony stands for all of these Wisconsin values with us.”


5. Evers & His Family Love the Wisconsin State Fair & Baseball Games

On social media, Tony Evers paints his family life as somewhat baseball and Apple pie. On Facebook, Tony Evers has posted photos with his wife at Milwaukee Brewers’ games, writing with one, “What a game! So excited to be with Kathy cheering on the Brewers at Miller Park tonight!”

He also indicated that they love the Wisconsin State Fair, writing, “Kathy and I love the Wisconsin State Fair! We’ve gone every single year since we were in high school. The WI Products Pavilion ice cream with the Door Co cherries is the best!”