Fats Everett


Robert Ashton "Fats" Everett was an American Democratic Congressman from Tennessee from February 1, 1958 until his death in Nashville, Tennessee in 1969.

Biography

Everett was a native of Obion County, Tennessee, being born on a farm near Union City. He was a 1936 graduate of Murray State College.

Career

Elected to the Obion County Court in 1936, Everett was then elected, in 1938 as Obion County Circuit Court Clerk. During World War II, he served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1945. After the war he was an administrative assistant to Senator Thomas Stewart from 1945 to 1949, and to Governor Gordon Browning from 1950 to 1952. Afterwards, he became executive secretary of the Tennessee County Services Association.
In 1958, Everett entered the contest for the Eighth Congressional District seat of Jere Cooper, who had died in office. He won the special election and served the balance of Cooper's term and five subsequent terms, serving from February 1, 1958 until his death in the first month of his seventh term. Like the voters of his district, he was predominantly a conservative, largely reflecting the views of his party's Southern wing.

Death

Everett died of pneumonia and flu complications at Veterans Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee on January 26, 1969. He is interred at East View Cemetery in Union City. There is a statue of him at the Obion County Courthouse in Union City, Tennessee.