Everett Vernon Presson, Jr. passed away on April 9, 2026, at the age of 78, with his wife and daughters at his side.

Everett, son of Everett Vernon Presson, Sr. and Helen “Dolly” Wilson Presson, grew up west of the Ashley with his older sister Barbara. He spent his childhood in his family’s restaurant, Everett's, where his father worked the front of the house, his mother kept the books, and his grandmother made the pies. Aunts, uncles, cousins, and generations of cooks and staff all helped to keep the restaurant running and, he always said, raised him along the way.

He moved to Sullivan’s Island in 1970. Over the next decade, he taught reading at Cainhoy Elementary and High School, served as president of the local teachers’ association, and was elected to the Charleston County School Board. He then went on to a forty-year career in residential real estate on Sullivan's Island, delighting in introducing people to the island he loved.

His elder daughter Eliza was born during his marriage to Della Jo Marshall. He later met Margaret, his beloved wife of thirty-two years, on Sullivan's Island, and their daughter Anna joined the family in 2000.

Elected to the Sullivan's Island Town Council in 2004, Everett championed and passed South Carolina's first restaurant smoking ban, a cause whose roots ran back to his family’s restaurant.

His love of the Lowcountry’s waterways was lifelong, and from the age of nine or ten, some of his happiest days were out on a boat.

Anna’s daughter, Eden, was the greatest joy of his later years. He was prouder of Eliza, Anna, and Eden than of anything else he did in his life.

Everett is predeceased by his parents, sister, and niece, Elizabeth Lacy Norman. He is survived by his wife Margaret; daughters Eliza (Jonah Johnson) and Anna; granddaughter Eden; and a wide circle of cousins, friends, and neighbors across the Lowcountry.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the LAMB Institute or HALOS.

A celebration of his life will be held at 4:30 p.m. on April 20, 2026, at Alhambra Hall, preceded by a private memorial service.