Neil Evans Death – Albany Pump Station brewpub founder, Neil Evans has passed away unexpectedly. He was pronounced dead on Wednesday, June 21, 2023. He died at the age of 78 at the hospital after suffering a brief illness, his wife confirmed. after living in Catskill until his time of death. Throughout his career, he mentored talent that would go on to become some of the area’s beverage and culinary leaders today.
Evans, who was generous with his time and skills as a collaborator on several projects and an early supporter of downtown Albany’s rise as a dining and entertainment destination, unveiled plans for the Pump Station in 1998. The formal name of the firm is C.H. Evans Brewing Co. at the Albany Pump Station, a tribute to Evans’ great-great-grandfather, who started the brewery in Hudson in 1786.
Who was Neil Evans?
Evans was born on July 22, 1945, raised in Hudson, graduated from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in the Finger Lakes, and worked in Nevada casinos before opening the Pump Station in rural New York. They reconnected after she moved back to the area and married 13 years ago. She was the bookkeeper for the Pump Station, which remained a genuine family business as his brother, Rowland, was also involved and one of the brewpub’s earliest investors.
According to Mayor Kathy Sheehan, “Neil cared about his customers, and he cared about Albany. Hospitality was part of his DNA,” She celebrated her victory in the Democratic mayoral primary in 2013, which paved the path for her election triumph the following autumn, at the Pump Station, replete with a beer specially prepared for the occasion.
“He was simply the best — considerate and caring,” said Maureen Lunberg, a Wynantskill resident and longstanding regular client. Lunberg was a member of a group that gathered for “Sunday service,” also known as lunch, for many years, and they intend to assemble, drink, and dine again this Sunday at noon to commemorate Evans.
Evans provided food and wine for the parties when Lunberg’s mother died, and then her brother, she claimed, rejecting payment. Lunberg worked part-time as a host at the brewpub while co-owner of the Albany Aqua Ducks tour and trolley company, which departed from near the Pump Station, always remembering to answer the phone with the full name of the business, per Evans’ request: “C. H. Evans Brewing Company at the Albany Pump Station.”
Neil Evans obituary and funeral arrangements will be released at a later date
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