John William Everett

John William Everett

July 31, 1955 - September 2, 2023

John William (Bill) Everett was born July 31, 1955 in Scott City, KS, to John Walker Everett and Lelia Elizabeth (Stevenson) Everett.

Bill was the fourth of John and Lelia Beth's six children. He often said he was the "independent middle child" of the Everett siblings. After high school, Bill began college, a process he would later call "fitting four years into six or seven." He graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in accounting. Bill worked for a CPA firm in Wichita, KS before transferring to the company's Tulsa office.

In Tulsa, Bill met Sarah. Their first date was the weekend of the infamous Tulsa Memorial Day flood of 1984. They married on Nov. 22, 1986, and have two children; Spencer, now living in Austin, TX and Anna, who lives in Grand Junction, CO.

Bill spent his career in public and private accounting, oil and gas, and at the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce. He retired in 2015. Retirement gave Bill time to take many great family trips to various National Parks, along with international visits to New Zealand, Ireland, Guatemala and even skiing in Chile in August 2022.

Bill had a servant's heart; was the first to volunteer, the last to leave an event and never met a stranger. He and Sarah joined First Methodist Church in Tulsa in 1985. They were involved in many aspects of church life and belonged to the same Sunday School class, One Accord, until Bill's passing. Bill was involved in Boy Scouts (who really earned that Eagle Scout?), Reading Partners, Bible Study Fellowship (BSF), The Leukemia And Lymphoma Society (LLS) and was the "Minister of Coffee" at his church for a time.

Bill dearly loved his children and was immensely proud of them. In 2005, while preparing to go with Spencer to the Boy Scout Jamboree, he was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). Bill endured many treatments, tests and clinical trials during his 18-year journey with CLL. When asked how he was doing, "I'm fine," was his standard response. On Aug. 23, 2023 Bill received stem cells from a donor. On Sept. 2, 2023, Bill stepped into the arms of Jesus. He is now totally healed. We will miss him terribly, but have the assurance that we will see him again.

Bill is survived by his wife, Sarah Churchill Everett; children, Spencer Churchill Everett and Anna Ruth Everett; sisters, Francis Elizabeth (Beth) Lee and Lydia Jo (Lollie) Packard; nephew, Christopher Everett; nieces, Renelle Everett Darr, Amanda Lee Cone, Kaleigh Everett Hensen and Whitney Everett Savolt and their families.

Bill was preceded by his parents; sister, Phyllis Lyn (Lyn) Everett; and brothers Melvin L. (ML) and Brian Jay (Jay) Everett.

A celebration of Bill's well-lived life will be held on September 16, 1:00 pm at First Methodist Church, 1115 S. Boulder Ave, Tulsa, OK. A reception will follow in Thomas Hall at the church. A livestream of the service will be available at 1:00 pm at https://fumctulsa.online.church/.

If you choose, please honor Bill's memory by contributing to The Leukemia And Lymphoma Society (LLS.org), MD Anderson Cancer Center (mdanderson.org) or Bible Study Fellowship (BSFInternational.org). These three organizations had a lot to do with him surviving and thriving during his leukemia journey of 18 years.

Condolences may be left on line at www.moorefuneral.com