Everett E. Bagley

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution announces with great sorrow the death of former WHOI Volunteer, Everett E. Bagley, on January 10, 2024.  He was 99.

Born in Brockton to Lucy (Canfield) and Edwin Bagley, Everett attended Brockton schools, leaving three months before graduation to enlist in the US Navy. Because of his class standing, he earned a diploma along with his class.

In the Navy, he trained as a motor machinist’s mate and was assigned to the engine room of the USS LST 1025, a temporary hospital ship that participated in several major battles in the Pacific islands. The crew’s duties involved landing troops on shore and returning battle-weary, injured, and dead soldiers to hospital ships and transports. It was more than 50 years before Everett was willing to discuss his wartime experiences.

After military service, he graduated from Thayer Academy in Braintree and went on to earn a degree in chemical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

In 1947 he married Lillian A. Smith of West Bridgewater, Mass. The couple moved to New Jersey, where Everett began his 35-year career with DuPont. He contributed to the development of synthetic materials and plastics, the most notable being a tinted plastic used in the production of automobile safety glass.

Everett’s work also took the family to Delaware, West Virginia, and North Carolina. The couple were active in the Episcopal Church, Masonic Order, International Order of Shriners, and Eastern Star in North Carolina and Delaware.

In retirement, the Bagley’s built their retirement home in Hatchville, Mass. Everett volunteered at WHOI in the Discovery Center and also helped with special projects. He also was a volunteer at the Marine Biological Laboratory and the Cahoon Museum of American Art.

When Lillian’s health began to deteriorate, they relocated to the Masonic Life Community in Charlton, Mass. She died in 2016. They were married for 69 years.

Everett leaves his son, Jeffrey Bagley and his wife, Laurice; two granddaughters; and several extended family members.

Visiting hours will be held on Friday, January 26, from 10 to 11 a.m. at Waitt Funeral Home, 850 North Main Street in Brockton, Mass., followed by a funeral service in the funeral home at 11 a.m.

Burial at Pine Hill Cemetery in West Bridgewater, Mass., will follow the service.

Information for this obituary is from the Falmouth Enterprise