Charles O. “Charlie” Everly of Sarasota, Florida, a nationally renowned code official specializing in wind-resistant construction, died April 8 after a long illness. He was 81.

Everly was Director of the Department of Building and Mechanical Inspections for his hometown of Alexandria, Virginia, before moving to Sarasota in 1984 to become Director of Building and Zoning for Sarasota County.

After “retiring” in 1996, Everly became a building code consultant. Friends and other peers in the field say he was one of the world's foremost experts of wind effects and wind resistant design. He was particularly instrumental in developing hurricane resistance construction methods for masonry structures.

Dennis Graber, Director of Technical Publications for the National Concrete Masonry Association, said Everly was able to blend his structural and technical expertise with a consensus-building philosophy to help strengthen codes for wind-resistant design.

But Everly wasn’t averse to taking a hands-on approach to make sure a building was safe. Graber chuckled remembering how Everly would determine if there were any softs spots in masonry work.

“Charlie would take a 6-pound sledgehammer and go around the building,” Graber said. “Usually, you would just give it a tap, and (a soft spot) makes a different sound. But Charlie would give it a good whack, and when he got to a hollow spot, it would break through.

“I don’t think the builders thought it was funny,” Graber said. “But he believed in giving it a real test. And that was one way to make sure it got fixed properly.”

As solid as he was with wind-resistant design, Paul Heilstedt, retired CEO of the Building Officials and Code Administrators International, remembers Everly as an all-around building official from his early days in Alexandria.

“He was an elite code official,” Heilstedt said. “He was knowledgeable in code enforcement on a broad scope—structural safety, fire safety—not just on one issue.”

Still, Heilstedt said he had to nudge Everly to get involved in leadership positions within the ICC legacy organization. Heilstedt said he first coaxed Everly into serving on committees, and once he was comfortable with that urged him to seek BOCAI leadership positions, where Everly eventually was elected president.

Heilstedt said Everly developed a knack for building consensus, keeping an open mind and listening to all views. “But he also was able to stand his position,” Heilstedt added.

And when he did, said Mo Madani, Manager of Building Codes and Standards for the State of Florida, the normally quiet and affable Everly could raise his voice a decibel or 10. “In making his position known, he could put some force into it.”

“If he had an issue, he was very passionate,” said Jim Rossberg of the American Society of Civil Engineers. “He stood his ground on a number of wind-resistant code issues. Charlie was a real strong player in all of that.”

That’s why years ago, when Florida was about to adopt residential codes that Madani said were found to be weak on wind standards, they called in Everly to punch them up. As a contractor then, Madani said Everly was more interested in making sure people were safe than how much he would be paid or when.

“Charlie and I worked together on several wind load issues through the years,” added Dominic Sims, Executive Vice President and Director of Operations for the Code Council and a former code official in Florida. “But his versatility in all facets of the codes—and the building safety industry in general—is what impressed me the most about him. He was a steady, guiding influence for me and other code officials in Florida and across the country.”

“Charlie was plain and simple, an honorable man," said Jim W. Sealy, FAIA. "And that is the way he worked. If he told you something, you could, as the saying goes, take it to the bank."

It was Sealy who got Everly and his wife Sandy involved in one of their favorite past-times: bird watching. Sealy and his wife would travel with the Everlys all through Texas and Florida on bird-watching adventures.

“When I heard he was moving to Sarasota, I told him that was a great place for bird watching,” Sealy said. “He wound up helping the sausage makers. He would go to Sam’s Club and buy a 2-pound box of weenies and feed them to the wood storks.”

Everly was a man of many talents, including holding a private pilot's license, building and racing sailboats as a young man and as an avid hunter and fisherman. He wound up visiting all seven continents.

Everly played golf on some weekends, but another passion was singing. In addition to singing in many church choirs, he was a lifelong barber shopper and sang with the Alexandria Harmonizers. In Sarasota, he sang with Key Chorale. He also was an ordained deacon and elder in the Presbyterian Church.

Past ICC Board of Directors President Steve Shapiro, a colleague of Everly’s in Virginia had a memorable on-stage experience during Everly’s BOCAI presidency when he had arranged to have barbershop quartet entertainment at one of the banquets. “I can’t sing a note,” Shapiro said chuckling. “But I got up in front of all those people and sang. It was pretty amazing.”

As well as his wife, Sandra, Everly is survived by three sons, two daughters, one brother and seven grandchildren.