Ocracoke friend Everett Long III, 77, of Cedar Point, died Tuesday, April 26, in the UNC Healthcare in Chapel Hill.
He was the husband of his wife, Nancy Waskey Long.
Born May 26, 1944, in Salisbury, Maryland, he was a son of the late Everett Long Jr. and Helen Morris Long.
Everett served his country in the USMC and retired at the rank of Lt. Col. He served in Vietnam and was the commanding officer of MWCS-28 and of 7th Communications Battalion.
In later years he enjoyed traveling the world collecting seashells.
When Everett saw a need, his first thought was to provide assistance in some way. He was presented the Humanitarian of the Year Award by the Community Mayors of New York in recognition of his work with special children.
He was instrumental in removing rusted vehicles and restoring Portsmouth Island, Carteret County, and he (and the N.C. Shell Club) helped Ocracoke Island Community Library replenish its shelves in 2020 after severe flooding from Hurricane Dorian in September 2019.
He enjoyed trips to Ocracoke and after Dorian, he wrote a tribute to the island.
At the time of his death, he was the president of the North Carolina Shell Club and the vice-president of the Conchologist of America.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by daughters, Allison Gale (Tom) of Wilmington and Krista Jones (Taylor) of Winnabow; grandchildren, Laura, Finley, Christian and Riley.
A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, May 3, in the chapel of Jones Funeral Home, 407 Old Hammocks Beach Rd., Swansboro.
The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to North Carolina Shell Club Scholarship Fund (Karlynn Morgan, North Carolina Shell Club, 3098 Shannon Drive, Winston-Salem, NC 27106) or to the charity of one’s choice.
