Daniel_Everett

I was 16 years old in 1955 I went to work for
Deax Lumber Co. I worked for a couple of hours
each evening, and on Saturday mornings until I
graduated from high school at age 18. My
scholastic average was number 84 in a class of
174. One unusual thing about my high school years
was my 12th grade speech teacher, Miss Maxwell,
she was 19 years old.
I worked with Dad when I could on his part-time
jobs. He did carpentry, hanging and floating sheet-
rock, and painting. My Dad died on January 16,
1962. from two heart attacks the same morning. He
was 48 years old.
I worked in New Orleans from '61 to '63, and came
back to Sulphur to work for the Borden Milk
Company in Lake Charles. I was now twenty-five
years of age. From there I moved to a better paying
job with Pelican Supply Company on Cities Service
Highway. In time I received an offer to go to work
for Lockheed Aircraft Company. This was still
another step up the ladder. I liked the job, and
intended to stay and earn a retirement.
I worked in the supply department. I started in a
tool room in the big hanger. After a few months I
advanced to Repairable Parts Control, and from
there to the local purchase receiving clerk’s
position in the main warehouse. I was in charge of
receiving everything not coming from the U.S. Air
Force. We repaired the F100 jet fighters shot down
in the Viet Nam War. We also repaired tankers,
cargo planes, and helicopters that had been shot
down, or damaged. Many were full of bullet holes,
and some still had dried blood in them from the men
that flew them.

In 1966 a friend introduced me to Joyce Herrin who was working in
Houston, Texas at that time. It was a matchmaking maneuver. We
dated for about six or seven months and were married May 6th, 1967.
Joyce had one daughter, Leslie, born February 21, 1963. Our
daughter, Jesse was born September 29, 1968. We bought the
house where we now live, and we moved into it in late 1968. We are
still in the same house on the corner of Patton and Allen just south
of Interstate 10.
Lockheed closed the company in '69. I was one of the last
warehousemen to leave. I tried working for Cities Service, now Citgo
in their warehouse. I did not like refinery work, so in 1971 I turned to
woodworking, and carpentry. I had a bit of background knowledge,
and some experience in that field. I went to work for a framing
contractor here in Sulphur. He did mostly commercial work. In six
weeks he was leaving me in charge of the crew.
On April 7, 1972 our only boy, Zachary was born. Our family now
numbered five. I was now employed by a home building contractor.
We worked mostly in the Sulphur, Westlake, and Moss bluff area. I
continued to work for this contractor for fifteen years until he died.
On March 20, 1978 our youngest daughter, Vanessa, was born. The
birth was completely natural and Joyce later told me she wished she
had birthed all her children that way.
I went to work for myself in a one-man business of home
remodeling and repair. Not many carpenters in my area specialized
in this type of carpentry so I worked steadily. The drawback was
that no one would pay much for remodeling, so I didn't make much
money, but I was doing something that I liked to do.
Joyce is from the Austin, Texas area. We went frequently so she
could see her folks. In time Joyce's mother developed Alzheimer's
disease, and suffered until she was drawn into the fetal position and
died October 19, 1989.
On November 1, 1990 I went to work for the Calcasieu Parish
School System as a maintenance carpenter. My arthritis was [and
is] getting worse, and i needed something less taxing on my body. I
worked my way up to the lock truck repairing doors, lock-sets,
closures and thresholds. On the whole it was much easier than
working for myself.
Several years later we received a call from Joy’s family that her dad
was in the hospital in Temple, Texas with heart disease. We rushed
to Central Texas to find him unconscious, and getting worse. He
passed away October 23, 1992.
My mother, and my step dad, were both diagnosed with cancer in
1994. His was too far advanced. His lungs slowly filled with fluid
until he died on January 26th, 1995. My mother went through the
treatment, and returned to Sulphur. On May 22, 1996 while traveling
in Texas she was involved in an accident with two eighteen-
wheelers which burst into flame and all three vehicles burned. My
mother, and the driver of one truck, burned to death at the scene.
She was 77 years old.
In May of 1997 I purchased a high-grade 35-mm film camera with
wide angle and telephoto lens. I began learning to use the
equipment and it has become a dominating part of my life. I have
specialized in outdoor photography, and what I started as a hobby
worked into a business, although only part time. I thoroughly enjoy
my photography.
In March of 2002, I had four-way by-past heart surgery. I follow my
diet, take my medicine, and walk over two miles a day. Joy and I
enjoy working in the yard and our flower garden. We are content.
We have been a church going family as far back as I can
remember. I will serve my God, and try to please Him until I am
called from this life. That brings us up to the present day. I have
known some bad times, but all-in-all life has been good to me. I hope
it has been so with you.