Bill Evans, a former Hall County commissioner who served only a few months on the board after a recall election in the 1970s, died Saturday.

Evans, 72, was a Hall County native born in the Chicopee area. He was a graduate of Oakwood High School. He operated a used car business and wrecker service, according to Times archives.

Evans was elected to the Board of Commissioners in 1978 representing South Hall. He and the other board members were caught in a controversy shortly into his term after they voted to contract county fire and ambulance services with a private company in 1979 and eliminate the county-funded fire department.

The move resulted in a recall petition, then a vote in which all five members were ousted that April.

More recently, Evans served for four years, 2007-10, on the Hall County Planning Commission after he was appointed by former District 1 Commissioner Bobby Banks.

Banks said he considered Evans a strong supporter.

"He was always opinionated, and he cared a lot about Hall County," Banks said Saturday night. "He would always help you do anything."

Planning Commission Chairman Don Smallwood remembered Evans as "a straight-up guy" when reached by phone at his home Saturday.

"He was very knowledgeable about politics, and he's really going to be missed on the board," Smallwood said. "He worked hard to try and prepare himself and he contributed to every meeting."

Evans was a member of Blackshear Place Baptist Church, the South Hall Kiwanis Club and the Hall County Farm Bureau.

He is survived by his wife and children.

Memorial Park Funeral Home in Gainesville is in charge of arrangements, though no funeral announcements have been made.