Donn James Everett (April 29, 1929 – November 29, 2007) was an American politician who served as a Republican in the

Kansas State Senate The Kansas Senate is the upper house of the Kansas Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. State of Kansas. It is composed of 40 senators elected from single-member districts, each with a population of about 73,000 inhabitants. Members of ...

and

Kansas House of Representatives The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for craftin ...

from 1969 to 1978. Everett was born in

Emporia, Kansas Emporia is a city in and the county seat of Lyon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 24,139. Emporia lies between Topeka, Kansas, Topeka and Wichita, Kansas, Wichita ...

. He served in the

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

; after returning to

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, he married Frederica Voiland in 1956 and worked as an attorney. The couple had six children before divorcing acrimoniously; the youngest child,

Bridget Everett Bridget Everett (born April 21, 1972) is an American comedian, actress, singer, writer, and cabaret performer. She began her career appearing and co-writing alongside Michael Patrick King the Off-Broadway musical comedy ''At Least It's Pink: A ...

, became a noted comedian and cabaret performer. Everett's first forays into elected office were winning races for

county attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

Riley County Riley County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and largest city is Manhattan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 71,959. The county was named after Bennet Riley, the 7th governor of California, and a ...

and serving as a member of the city council in

Manhattan, Kansas Manhattan is a city in and the county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County, Kansas, Pottawatomie County. It is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big ...

(including a stint as mayor). In 1968, he was elected to the Kansas House, serving until 1975. While in the Kansas House, he rose to the post of Majority Leader. During his fourth term, in 1975, he was appointed to the Kansas Senate to fill the seat left vacant by

Richard Dean Rogers Richard Dean Rogers (December 29, 1921 – November 25, 2016) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. Education and career Born in Oberlin, Kansas, Rogers received a Bachelor of Scienc ...

, who resigned to serve as a federal judge. He served in the Senate until his own resignation in 1978.

References

Republican Party Kansas state senators Republican Party members of the Kansas House of Representatives Kansas Republicans People from Manhattan, Kansas United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War Kansas lawyers University of Kansas alumni University of Kansas School of Law alumni District attorneys in Kansas Mayors of places in Kansas Kansas city council members 1929 births 2007 deaths 20th-century members of the Kansas Legislature {{Kansas-politician-stub