Betty Jo Everett, 71, Led Streets Department
Submitted By N.O.V.A. July 2005
Times Picayune 	12-27-1997


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Betty Jo Kerr Everett, an engineer who became the first woman director of the New
Orleans Streets Department, died Sunday of pancreatic cancer at her home in
Grants, N.M. She was 71.

Mrs. Everett, who was born in Norman, Okla., and lived in New Orleans for 26
years, had more than 40 years of experience in public works design.

She began her career in city government in 1970 as a civil engineer in the Streets
Department. She later worked as capital projects coordinator during Mayor Moon
Landrieu's administration.

When not working for the city, Mrs. Everett taught engineering in college and
worked for the state Highway Department and the Port of New Orleans. In 1978 she
founded Chatah Inc., an oil service company.

In 1985, Mayor Dutch Morial named her to run the Streets Department. She was
retained by Sidney Barthelemy when he succeeded Morial in 1986. She retired from
the position in 1990 to take a job as an engineering consultant.

During her tenure, Mrs. Everett oversaw about $250 million in street construction.
She earned a reputation as an outspoken administrator who often warned elected
officials that the city was investing only a fraction of what was needed to
maintain its streets, which deteriorate rapidly atop a foundation of unstable
soil.

City Councilman Jim Singleton praised Mrs. Everett as a no-nonsense, dedicated
public servant who loved her job.

"Whenever I called on her, she was right there to get things done," Singleton said
Friday. "And even when it had nothing to do with her official duties, she always
showed a keen interest in what was going on in the community."

Mrs. Everett returned for a second stint as streets director in 1994 after the
election of Mayor Marc Morial, Dutch Morial's son. She had worked as a volunteer
in the younger Morial's 1993-94 mayoral campaign.

A member of the Choctaw Nation, Mrs. Everett resigned in November 1995 and moved
with her husband to New Mexico, where she took a teaching position on an Indian
reservation. When she stepped down, Morial praised her for a distinguished public
service career that he said left "a significant mark on the face of New Orleans."

Mrs. Everett received a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University
of Oklahoma and a master's degree from Louisiana State University.

She was a registered professional engineer in Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma and
Mississippi.

She was a member of the Society of Women Engineers and several boards at the
University of Oklahoma, where she was named to the Distinguished Graduates
Society. She received the Achievers Award, the Outstanding Engineer Award, the
Women in Communications Award and the National Supplier of the Year Award.

She was a former member of Munholland United Methodist Church, where she taught
Sunday school and was on the board of trustees.

In 1984, Mrs. Everett was selected as one of 39 U.S. engineers to tour China and
the Soviet Union.

Survivors include her husband, Rex Minter Everett; a son, Don Everett of Houston;
two daughters, Lisa Jo Everett of New Orleans and Sheri Everett; and two
grandchildren.

No funeral was held. French Mortuary in Albuquerque, N.M., handled arrangements.