Richard Evans stayed busy in his six decades at the University of Houston, helping develop new fields of psychology, chronicling the field's most famous figures and elevating the university's profile while bringing psychology to the masses on shows like Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show."

So perhaps it's fitting that Evans, who helped found the field of behavioral medicine and developed techniques to teach children to say no to cigarettes, alcohol and drugs, is also credited with coining the term "workaholic."

Evans, who was UH's longest serving faculty member when he retired in 2011 at the age of 88, died Monday. He was 92.

Evans founded UH's social psychology program and was one of the school's first researchers to bring in significant funding from organizations like the National Institutes of Health. Evans was a world renowned expert with many offers to leave UH for more prestigious schools, relatives and friend said. But he loved Houston, they said, and was a firm believer in raising UH's stature.

"He poured his life into the program," said Clayton Neighbors, a former student of Evans who now chairs the social psychology program.

Evans took his expertise beyond UH. He opened his popular social psychology to the masses, airing it every night on KUHT-TV beginning in 1953 to an estimated audience of 20,000. Through the program, Evans was an early pioneer of distance learning, an idea that has gained momentum recently via massive open online courses and other web-based classes.

He also appeared on numerous television programs, from "20/20" to the "Today Show" and the "Tonight Show" when it was hosted by Carson, who became something of a friend of Evans.

"My dad was not a clinical psychologist, but he (Carson) used to ask him for advice all the time," said Randolph Evans, Richard Evans' son.

Part of Evans' mission to bring psychology to the public included chronicling the field's most famous figures. He recorded interviews with the world's top psychologists, including a reclusive Carl Jung, who rarely gave interviews.

"That exposed people to their personalities," Neighbors said. "You sort of got a sense of who they were. That was one of his main contributions."

Evans' works are used in psychology classes at 300 universities, said Lolin Wang-Bennett, head of advancement at UH's psychology department.

Evans, a World War II veteran, turned to psychology after he was injured in the Battle of the Bulge, his son Randolph Evans said. Most of Evans' research focused on developing methods to prevent addictions. He is credited with creating a model known as social inoculation, in which children are taught how to handle situations like being offered a cigarette.

His approach was oversimplified to "just say no," when Nancy Reagan picked up on it, much to his surprise, Randolph Evans said.

Evans also authored a Surgeon General's report in 1978 that focused on smoking prevention.

Evans retired just four years ago.

Evans was passionate about sports and was an avid fan of the Cougars, Astros, Texans and Rockets. Even in the hospital, he was thrilled by the Rockets' recent win of their division, his son said.

Evans grew up in Michigan and was drawn to Houston in 1950 by the climate. He came to love the city and never left.

"He could have traded up to a different city or university, but he loved Houston," Randolph Evans said. "He liked the idea of growing the University of Houston. He was very loyal to Houston."

Evans leaves a brother, Phillip Evans; four children, Randy Evans, Sharon Dreyer, Dennis Cohan and Vicki Evans; and 12 grandchildren.

A memorial service is planned for 1 p.m. Friday at Congregation Beth Yeshurun, 4525 Beechnut.