Douglas Carleton Everett

You will have met him somewhere, enjoyed his wry sense of humor, his attention to detail, his enthusiasm for the extraordinary, his love of music and his love of his family, which was always proudly on display.

My husband Doug was a man of incredible intelligence: A PhD in Physiology, with an emphasis on Cardio-Respiratory Circulation, a Researcher in lung health and blood flow at the University of Colorado, a Professor at the University of Colorado in the School of Public Health Division. He was the Editor-in-Chief of Advances in Physiology Education, member of the editorial board for Advances of Physiology Education, and reviewer of the American Journal of Physiology. He was the first author in over 150 research papers and an accredited contributor to many other prestigious journals. His research has been cited in over 1000 research papers. He received the status of Fellow in Statistics and Professor Emeritus at National Jewish Hospital and retired as Division Head of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics in Spring of 2021.

You might have met him through the following avenues:

Doug was a judge at the Colorado State Science and Engineering Fair at CSU for 20 years. He was especially proud of his presentations about lungs at elementary schools- he especially loved seeing the excitement each child got after seeing the lungs expand and contract and the ability to actually touch them. This journey of his led to him meeting Char for the first time and of course we know how that ended up. A day they both cherished and celebrated is the day they married- August 4, 2001. They recently celebrated 23 years married and 26 years together.

Doug volunteered for over forty years through officiating at USA and PARA swimming up through International meets and at the Warrior Games. He served on the board of Review for USA swimming and served on boards in our daughter’s swim clubs.

He was a trombone player through high school and college and most enjoyed the pep band during football games while a student at Cornell University. He also enjoyed playing the trumpet in the pit orchestra for musical performances. He proudly displayed this at home disguised as a lamp, but when anyone noticed he proudly exclaimed, “it still works!”

He was an avid athlete, a marathon runner, a cyclist, a swimmer, and an overall tremendous competitor as many of us know, even with the small things like scars and surgery comparisons. He continually found new forms of exercise or programs to follow and religiously watched the Tour de France (as he would say - for "training").

If that were not enough, he traveled the world with me to 49 countries, and with our daughters Kaitlin and Cassie, to most of the fifty states and a few countries too! Some of his favorites sights were Safaris in Zambia, Machu Picchu, Greek Parthenon, hiking in Argentina and Chilean Patagonia Region, climbing to Sky Lodge in Peru, camel rides in Morocco, seeing the penguins in Falkland Islands, the Shetland ponies in Shetland, but most of all, a tie between Kauai and the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

Doug was a diehard fan of the Denver Broncos, Colorado Avalanche, the New York Giants, the New York Yankees, lacrosse but most of all Duke Basketball! He never missed a game and would put the tv on mute because he didn't want to hear the commentary but we as a family got to hear his very colorful commentary.

One of Doug's proudest moments was when he officially adopted our two girls, Kaitlin and Cassie, on October 7, 2013, even though he was already their dad from day 1. He loved our girls with his entire heart.

It is with great sadness to let you know of Doug’s passing on Sat. Aug 10 from Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Cancer. He was diagnosed 10 1/2 years ago but would never call himself a cancer patient or survivor. Instead, he always said he was fine, he just had miscreant cells that he was dealing with. Doug never complained, and even in the ER on his final day, when asked about his symptoms, he replied, “I’ve had better days!” After many surgeries, rounds of chemo, and so many other procedures, his body just got tired.

One of the quotes Doug frequently referenced was from SNL comedian, Norm MacDonald: "When I hear a guy lost a battle to cancer, that really did bother me, that is the term. It implies that he failed. I'm pretty sure if you die, the cancer dies at the same time. That's not a loss. That's a draw." Doug whole-heartedly agreed. Doug didn’t lose, it was a tie at best.

Doug is survived by his wife Char Sorensen and his two daughters, Kaitlin and Cassie. He will be greatly missed by Char’s family, of which he was extremely close, her parents John and Sharon Sorensen, her brother Charles and his two boys Steven and David (Mia), his mother Ruth Bailey, brother Dave Everett (Nora) and niece Jill and nephew Ryan of Des Moines, Iowa. Many aunts, uncles, and cousins throughout the United States. He was preceded in death by his father Pete Everett of Des Moines, Iowa.

As we were working through this most recent treatment, in true Doug fashion, he would tell us how much he wanted us to celebrate life, to not let this event stop us from living, and that grief is a good thing. Grief means there was love and love came first. With the uncertainty of the treatment, he repeatedly mentioned celebrations around his birthday which I am wanting to honor. Services will be Oct. 21, 2024 at 11:00 AM at Olinger Crown Hill Mortuary, 7777 W. 29th Ave., Wheatridge, CO

In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to The University of Colorado Pancreatic and Biliary Cancer Multidisciplinary Clinic in the name of The Doug Everett and Charlene Sorensen Trust

Friends and family can donate in memory of Doug Everett to the Neuroendocrine/Carcinoid Research Fund on the CU Anschutz campus: https://www.givecampus.com/b05ltf