Everett A. Pearson, 84

Warren, R.I. and Estero, Fla.

Everett passed away Dec. 24. He was the co-founder of Pearson Yachts, one of the first companies to build large production fiberglass boats, earning him the title “grandfather of fiberglass production.” In 1968, he continued his boatbuilding and fiberglass work with the start of Tillotson-Pearson, Inc. (TPI). TPI built wind blades, all-composite bus bodies, test-track vehicles for Disney Imagineering, the branches on the Animal Kingdom Tree of Life, and the well-known J/Boats.

An avid sailor, he competed in local yacht club and ocean racing events, and was a member of the New York Yacht Club. He also enjoyed tennis and, in later years, playing golf at Wildcat Run Golf and Country Club in Estero, Fla. Everett was a graduate of Pawtucket East High School, received his bachelor’s degree in Economics in 1955 from Brown University, where he was captain of the football team and, later, a member of the Brown University Athletic Hall of Fame.