The following is an extract from a column written by the 36 year veteran Faith and Values Reporter of the Fresno Bee concerning the recent death of the pastor of First Presbyterian (EPC), Fresno, California

The congregation of First Presbyterian Church in downtown Fresno is saddened by the loss of its senior pastor, the Rev. Jamie Evans, who took his own life Feb. 25. He was 50.

Last November, Evans took a leave of absence because of exhaustion and burnout. Church officials say he also sought professional help as he fought severe depression.

Congregants gathered as a church family to remember him last Sunday. Many felt that both Evans and the church had done everything they could to deal with his suffering.

I have good memories of him.

He granted me an interview in 2002 — just nine months after he became the church’s pastor — to talk about being able to minister to congregants despite learning disabilities such as hyperactivity, attention deficit disorder and dyslexia.

Those disabilities required him to put a lot of effort into his many jobs, particularly writing his sermons and preaching in the pulpit.

He did them well.

He was a friend.