Born in Chester Township on January 3, 1917, Everett moved into the city of Grinnell in 1930, where he graduated from Grinnell High School in 1935. After returning from a tour of duty in World War II, he founded Armstrong Electric from which he retired in 1980. He represented the Fourth Ward on the City Council from 1949 to 1951. He and his wife, Phyllis, were the parents of a daughter and a son.