The Rev. John M. Trojak recalled that day when he got the call from First National Bank.

“I was blown away by that,” he said.

The bank official told Rev. Trojak, the pastor of First Baptist Church in Sharon, that Henry and Catherine Evans had left the church money in their wills.

“I knew we were in there,” Rev. Trojak said. “I didn’t know to what extent.”

The amount is what blew the pastor away: $1.5 million.

The gift was repeated twice over: $1.5 million each for Thiel College in Greenville and the Buhl Club in Sharon.

Mrs. Evans, who died March 7, 2003, at age 89, was a lifelong member of First Baptist. Evans was baptized by Rev. Trojak on Dec. 23, 1990, after Evans, who died Jan. 2, 2000, at age 85, had retired from Sharon Steel. He was a trustee of the college and a daily visitor to the club.

Evans “was married to Sharon Steel,” Rev. Trojak said of the former chief executive officer. But that didn’t stop him from becoming involved in a number of community organizations. Once he joined the church, he served on its board of trustees, donated money for children’s camps and capital campaigns and lent money in times of need.

Evans would set up meetings between church, college and club officials and people who had valuable input on a project or activity the institutions were undertaking.

“He was a door opener for the college,” said John R. Hauser, the recently retired executive director of development. “He knew so much of what was going on in different areas. He was always looking at ways we could collaborate, so it was a win-win situation for the college and what business we were dealing with.”

Although Evans never attended college, he became close to Thiel, possibly lured by college board members who were aware of his community involvement in the Shenango Valley, Hauser said.

Evans was a college trustee from 1987-96, and dubbed a trustee emeritus afterward, a distinction bestowed on only about 5 percent of trustees.

“He was very optimistic,” Hauser said. “He was a businessman who really looked beyond business for the good of the community and the institutions of the community. He was always looking beyond what was in it for himself and his company.”

Evans started his day at the Buhl Club, working out in the wellness center, playing handball, pedaling an exercise bicycle, and enjoying a steam bath or showering there, said club Executive Director Jeffrey Valentino.

As with the church, Evans would donate money for capital campaigns and other projects, and help secure material and labor.