GSU grad killed in Iraq embraced adventure
Swashbuckling economist Stephen Everhart never shied away from an adventure.
But according to friend and fellow Georgia State University alum Joey Smith, Everhart sounded a bit nervous earlier this year as he discussed his next challenge.
"He understood the risks involved," Smith, an associate professor of economics at West Georgia University, told the AJC Friday -- one day after his former study partner died in eastern Baghdad. Everhart, killed by a roadside bomb, was in Iraq helping implement a new business curriculum at a Baghdad university.
Smith met Everhart at GSU, which is also where the future economist met his wife, Stephanie Zobay. The couple graduated with a master’s and doctorate in economics.
"He always said he married the smartest student in the program," Smith said. Everhart and Zobay had two children together.
Everhart's oldest child, from a previous marriage, currently attends the American University in Cairo, where Everhart was associate dean of the Business School and a finance professor.
Mary Beth Walker, dean of the GSU's School of Policy Studies, told the Associated Press Everhart was a "hard worker" with a sturdy sense of humor.
"Steve was just an extremely impressive person -- confident, outgoing and adventurous," Smith said.
Few details about Everhart's death were released by the State Department, but an Iraqi police official told the AP the Columbia, S.C., native was among a group of American contractors visiting a satellite office of Mustansiriyah University in eastern Baghdad when they were hit by a roadside bomb.
Two other civilians were wounded in the attack, including one other American.
About the Author
A native Atlantan, Boone joined the AJC staff in 2007. He quickly carved out a niche covering crime stories, assuming the public safety beat in 2014. He's covered some of the biggest trials this decade, from Hemy Neuman to Ross Harris to Chip Olsen, the latter of which was featured on Season 7 of the AJC's award-winning "Breakdown" podcast.
