Howard E. Everson

Howard E. Everson, 95, a retired head of safety and environmental engineering at Diamond Shamrock, died on Nov. 27, 2013.

Born in Milan, Ohio, Everson earned a bachelor’s degree from Adelbert College (now Case Western Reserve University) in 1940 and worked at Wyandotte Chemicals in Michigan before serving in the Marine Corps from 1942 to 1946. After World War II, he transferred to the reserves as a captain. He earned an M.S. before earning a Ph.D. in 1948, both from Case Western Reserve.

He taught chemistry at the University of Cincinnati until 1951, when he began a long career with Diamond Alkali, and later Diamond Shamrock, after Diamond Alkali’s merger with Shamrock Oil & Gas in 1967.

Everson served as a senior chemist, and eventually director of research, at the company’s facility in Concord Township, Ohio. He became director of safety and environmental engineering at the company’s Cleveland headquarters before retiring. During his career, he helped develop and market the fungicide Daconil 2787 in a joint venture with the Japanese company Showa Denko. He was an emeritus member of ACS, joining in 1941.

He was an active member and elder of Zion Lutheran Church in Painesville, Ohio. He was an avid gardener and a lifetime member of the Madison Country Club, where he continued to play golf into his 90s.

His wife of 56 years, Martha, died in 2003. He is survived by his daughter, Mary Ann Chase; his sons, William and John; seven grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.