• Courtesy
• Evan Lovell

Evan McCulloch Lovell, age 53, died at home in Stowe on June 20, 2023, of colorectal cancer; his family and old friends were with him in his last days. Evan was diagnosed in November 2021 and endured chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, doing all he could to gain more time with his beloved wife, Kristi Eve, and the daughters he adored: Lucia Eve, age 18; Isabel Sarah, 17; and Evelyn McCulloch, 15. Kristi accompanied him to all of his treatments as well as supported his demanding career, along with her own professional activities. Together, they made a point of attending all of their girls’ events at school, ski races and soccer games. They also have been generous supporters of many Stowe organizations and events.

The only son of Christopher Ward Lovell and Ellen McCulloch-Lovell, Evan was born on September 26, 1969, in Warren, Vt., and attended schools in Plainfield and Montpelier until his family moved to Washington, D.C., where he graduated from St. Andrew’s Episcopal School. He earned his BA in political science from the University of Vermont in 1992, spending his junior year abroad in San Sebastian, Spain, and becoming fluent in Spanish.

The arc of his career began after an internship with Podesta Associates in D.C., when he joined multinational corporation Astrum as assistant to the chairman. Next he worked at Culligan, learning the water business from 1994 to 1998, then moved to the Texas Pacific Group, a large private equity firm, to develop their Aqua Fund. In 2007, he became a founding partner in Virgin Green, investing in renewable energy companies and merging it with Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group in 2012, where he became the company’s first chief investment officer. He served on many boards, including of Virgin America, Galactic, Hotels and Voyages, along with 23andMe.

About Evan as a professional, one of his long-term colleagues said, “He had a canny ability to identify and understand what really matters and act upon it. The more complex the situation was, the better he became. He was a fantastic partner and true friend.” Evan’s work took him all over the U.S. and the world, from the UK to Europe, Russia and China, but he made a point of coming home every weekend.

In 2003, he married Kristi Eve Brown, an NCAA ski racer, Salomon apparel international team manager, sports action model and political activist, whom he had met at UVM and pursued for many years all over the world. Their first daughter, Lucia, was born in 2004, and not long after they moved from San Francisco, where Evan was headquartered, to Stowe, Vt. Izzy was born in 2006 and Evie in 2008. Evan greeted each baby girl with tenderness and joy and was devoted to them and to Kristi. He encouraged all the girls’ talents and adventures. Their shared love of travel took them on family trips to London, Paris, Italy, Greece, Israel, Iceland, Bali, Eleuthera, Costa Rica and each summer to family favorite Truro.

Evan was a natural athlete, playing soccer and tennis as a youth and ranking high in the New England Lawn Tennis Association. He remained an excellent tennis player, skier, outdoorsman and mountain biker. Although a courageous mountain and ice climber, he judiciously gave up dangerous sports when the girls were born. He was an omnivore reader with a thirst for knowledge. He enjoyed music and kept trying to teach himself guitar. He is remembered for his capacity for friendship and loving ways, as well as for his determination and drive. His family wants everyone to know about his kind heart. He was known to always do his best but always stay humble. He was full of fun and at large gatherings preferred to play with the kids.

Although he had a closet full of “monkey suits,” as his daughters jokingly referred to his business suits, he preferred to wear his wool socks, a flannel shirt, jeans and a baseball cap.

One of Evan’s favorite authors was Jack Kerouac, who said, “Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.”

Memorial gifts may be made to the Stowe Land Trust at stowelandtrust.org, the Vermont Foodbank at vtfoodbank.org or the Current at thecurrentnow.org.

The family is holding a private ceremony to honor Evan’s life.