Evan Walsh arrived in Oakdale shortly before his sister, Connor, wrested control of Walsh Enterprises from Lucinda. Shocked, Evan would learn that Connor felt justified since she felt that Lucinda's taking the company from their father (her stepson) is what led to his suicide.

After the takeover, Evan briefly dated sweet Courtney Baxter and then the Rosanna Cabot, a young runaway who had been staying at the Snyder farm. Evan soon realized exactly who Rosanna was--she was the heir to the Cabot fortune. In addition to having competition from stablehand Hutch Hutchison, he also had to contend with disapproval from his mother, Edwina, who hating Rosanna's disdain for wealth, informed Evan that his real father was the late Alexander Cabot! Though shocked, Evan obviously still needed verification and so had a DNA test run which came back negative. Angry at his mother's manipulation, he angrily confronted her and continued seeing Rosanna. Rosanna though would become unnerved by Evan's ruthlessness in business and leave him, only to fall for mechanic Mike Kasnoff. Though Evan let his jealousness get the better of him by scheming to get Mike in trouble with his parole officer, his plan failed and he was forced to admit that he lost Rosanna.

Afterward, Evan would unexpectedly hook up with the newly divorced Barbara Ryan Munson, who sensing that business wasn't Evan's passion, encouraged him to find something that made him happy since he was too young to be in a job he didn't love. Buoyed by her encouragement, Evan decided to forgo the life of a businessman and enrolled in the merchant marines until he figured out what he really wanted to do with his life.

Several years later, Lucinda was again ousted from her company, Wprldwide, this time by Craig Montgomery. Determined to get back what she'd lost, Lucinda brought Evan's grown son, Evan Walsh IV, to Oakdale. A medical researcher, Evan was to secure funding from Crag for his new research project, probably in the hopes that the project would bankrupt Craig. Unfortunately, Evan's ambitions drove him to murder in the quest to get his project approved. Obsessed and delusional, Evan eventually held Lucinda and her daughter, Lily, hostage in order to secure transportation out of town. In an effort to escape, Lily stabbed Evan with the syringe that he was holding, killing him instantly.