Everett James Avila

Everett James Avila died of heart failure Wednesday, August 19, 2020 in Pasadena, CA. He was born March 11, 1940 in San Jose, CA. He was a third-generation native Californian and five of his six grandchildren are 5th generation. He is survived by his wife, Susan, four children, Ancelyn, James, Claire and Leigh, and 6 grandchildren. Everett and Sue married in San Jose in 1964 and lived there while Everett finished his law degree at Stanford University. They moved to Sacramento in 1967 when he accepted a job with the Legislative Counsel. In 1969 he chose to become a Public Defender because he believed everyone deserved the best defense possible. Everett had a strong moral compass and definite ideas of right and wrong, which he passed on to his children. He taught them to think for themselves and to follow their heart no matter what anyone else thought. Everett possessed a quiet brilliance that set him apart. He was an original thinker. His quirky sense of humor was one of his greatest strengths. Although he preferred to communicate one-on-one and could be somewhat quiet in a crowd of strangers, he was a charismatic and eloquent orator, which served him well in his chosen profession. At first glance he appeared mild mannered, but when he stepped in front of an audience he came to life. He loved being a guest speaker every year at the local high school. Later in Everett's career, he headed the research department at the Public Defenders office, mentoring many young law students. They called him "the computer" because he knew exactly where to find the right citations. Everett was an avid collector, e.g., all genres of books, magazines, comic books, DVDs, Oz memorabilia, and he was a Trekkie. Throughout his life Everett enjoyed reading aloud to Sue, his children, and then his grandchildren. Everett will be missed by everyone who knew him, especially his wife, children and grandchildren.