Don Everist, a well-known figure among our broadcast engineering circles, has died, according to reports from his colleagues.
Everist was a registered professional engineer and principal at the engineering consulting firm Cohen, Dippell and Everist P.C., which specializes in broadcast radio and television design and licensing.
Bob Weller, vice president of spectrum policy at the National Association of Broadcasters, confirmed Everist passed unexpectedly last Wednesday after years of service to the industry. According to the firm, Everist kicked off his D.C. engineering career in 1967.
“Together with Julius Cohen and Ralph Dippell, Don founded the CDE firm to serve the consulting engineering needs of broadcasters,” Weller told Radio World. “CDE is the last such firm actually located in the District of Columbia. To this day, Don and CDE have been active in FCC proceedings involving broadcast and in the service of their many clients.”
Thomas Locke, a consultant at Cohen, Dippell and Everist, said Everist was hired in 1961 by George C. Davis, Consulting Engineers, Radio-Television, and worked for that firm and its predecessors—which includes Cohen, Dippell, and Everist, P.C.—continuously until his passing.
Locke said Everist was a longtime member of various engineering organizations, including the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the Society of Professional Engineers and the Illinois Society of Professional Engineers, to name a few.
Everist was also a member of the Association of Federal Communications Consulting Engineers which, according to its website, monitors the engineering policies of the FCC to ensure that the agency’s regulations coincide as closely as possible with sound engineering principles. He previously was the association’s director and treasurer, a role that Weller now holds.
Michele West of Cohen, Dippell and Everist said in an email that Everist was a U.S. delegate multiple times in international planning sessions. She said there are no further details on his obituary at this time.
Friends and former colleagues of Everist are sharing statements with Radio World as news of his passing spreads.
“Don Everist was an exemplary engineer, a thoughtful and helpful colleague and a good friend for many years,” said Ben Dawson, a senior consultant at Hatfield & Dawson Consulting Engineers, in an email.
Everist’s wife Sandra passed in 2020.
This article initially appeared on TV Tech sister brand Radio World.
