August 2005

In Memoriam

William Ward “Bill” Kates

Kates grew up in Seneca Falls, NY; Pittsfield, MA; Spokane, WA; and Baltimore, MD. He graduated from Amherst College in 1965 and attended Columbia Law School before moving to Seattle to begin his 34-year law career. He retired from the Solicitor’s Office of the U.S. Department of Labor in 2002. He married Margie Harvey Kates in 1974 in Seattle, and together they raised two daughters. He was devoted to his family, his friends, and the Episcopal Church. Kates was known for his love of family, keen intellect, and wonderful sense of humor.

He is survived by his wife, Margie, two daughters, his mother, his sister, his brother, and three nephews and nieces. Memorials may be made to the Epiphany Parish of Seattle, 1805 38th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122.

Bill Kates was born on June 24, 1943, in Geneva, NY, and passed away peacefully on April 2, 2005, in Seattle, aged 61.

Eleanor Rose Fine

In 1944, Fine moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington School of Nursing. Following her graduation in 1948, she worked as a nurse in hospitals, with the Seattle-King County Department of Health, and at Fircrest School for the Developmentally Disabled.

In 1966, she started working for the Washington State Bureau of Nursing Home Affairs monitoring the care provided to Medicaid patients. She became involved in frequent litigation matters with facilities that were providing substandard care. Fine decided that she needed some legal training to help her perform her work. She enrolled in night classes at the University of Puget Sound School of Law in 1975. She continued her legal education and graduated in 1978. During her third year of law school, her son Seth enrolled there as a first-year law student. Seth is now a lawyer practicing in Everett.

Following her graduation and admission to the Bar, Eleanor engaged in a general civil practice in Tacoma. She represented many impoverished clients and engaged in considerable pro bono work, including representation of battered women. She also worked for the Department of Assigned Counsel, representing mental patients in involuntary commitment proceedings.

Eleanor Rose Fine was born in New York City on December 13, 1927, and died in New Smyrna Beach, FL on June 24, 2005, aged 77.

Neil J. Hoff

The Hoff family came to Tacoma from Redwing, MN, in 1938. Neil Hoff graduated from Stadium High School, then attended Pacific Lutheran College until enlisting in the Army during World War II. After the war, he attended the University of Washington, earning a bachelor’s and then a law degree from the UW Law School in 1949. Hoff served four years as a public prosecutor and then went into private practice in Tacoma.

He served four years in the Washington State Senate, he was a governor of the Washington State Bar Association and the Western States Trail Lawyers Association, and became a member of the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association. He taught business law at Pacific Lutheran University.

Hoff is remembered as a showman. He often wore plaid polyester suits to court, “just to thumb his nose at propriety,” his daughter, Erica Christenson, said. “He wanted to shock people. He didn’t go for the formal lawyer, uptight stuff. He would speak in court just as if he were talking to a neighbor. He would always rather come to a resolution through conversation rather than in court.”

Hoff had a love of the outdoors, horses, dogs, peacocks, and wildlife.

Hoff is survived by his daughter, two grandchildren, sister, and eight nieces and nephews. He maintained a lifelong friendship with his former wife, Mary (Schmitz) Hoff, of Seattle.

Neil Hoff was born in Los Angeles on June 17, 1921, and died in Tacoma on June 18, 2005, aged 84.

Martin J. Durkan Sr.

Durkan attended Gonzaga University before joining the Navy during World War II and served with an amphibious team in the South Pacific. After the war, he earned his law degree at the University of Washington.

Durkan, a politically active Democrat, served a two-year term in the state House, followed by 18 years in the state Senate starting in 1958. He gained power as chairman of the budget-writing Senate Ways and Means Committee in the late 1960s. He helped write some of the early state legislation on oil spills and sponsored the bill that established the state Ecology Department.

Durkan ran for governor in 1968 and 1972 but lost both times in the Democratic primary. He met the same fate when he ran for Congress in 1977. In the succeeding years, he became one of the most effective lobbyists in Olympia. His clients included the state’s horse racing industry, and Ken Alhadeff, a senior vice president with Longacres, credited Durkan with designing legislation regarding taxation and regulation that helped horse racing in Washington survive.

“What Martin was about was that old-world kind of political class and style,” Alhadeff said. “When Martin Durkan stepped into the room you knew something was going to happen.”

Former state Rep. Denny Heck described Durkan as “one of the best governors we never had.” Heck added that Durkan’s family “never quite became the Washington version of the Massachusetts Kennedys, but came about as close as you could get.” His son, Martin Durkan Jr., is a well-known local-government lobbyist, while one of his daughters, Jenny, is a prominent Seattle attorney who represented the Democratic party in the lawsuit challenging last November’s governor’s race. His daughter, Kathleen, is a former NBC News foreign correspondent; his son, Tim, is a special assistant to Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels; and another daughter, Ryan, is a well-known land-use attorney. Jenny Durkan described her father as “one of the kindest most compassionate people I’ve ever known,” who was known for sticking up for “the little guy and the underdog.”

Durkan is survived by his wife of more than 50 years, Lorraine “Lolly” Durkan, and his eight children.

Martin J. Durkan Sr. was born in Great Falls, MT, in 1923 and died May 29, 2005, in Hawaii, aged 81.

Joseph J. Roller

Roller, a 37-year resident of Gig Harbor, passed away after a courageous battle with Parkinson’s disease. He was a devoted husband, brother, father, and uncle. He was a loyal member of the WSBA for 47 years. Remembrances may be made to St. Nicholas Catholic School, 3555 Edwards Dr., Gig Harbor, WA 98335.

Roller is survived by his wife, Janet, his five children, a brother and sister, nine grandchildren, and six nephews and nieces.

Joseph Roller was born April 6, 1930, and died May 24, 2005, aged 75.

Stanley E. “Sandy” Erickson

Erickson was a graduate of Ingraham High School, in Seattle, and received an electrical engineering degree from the University of Washington. In 1968 he married Patti Costello and relocated to the East Coast, where Sandy worked for General Electric. The Ericksons returned to the West Coast where Sandy attended Hastings Law School in San Francisco. In 1974, Erickson began a 29-year legal career and eventually founded his own firm with law partner Mary Ann Barkshire in Bellevue.

A successful day for Erickson would include reading his three newspapers, having breakfast at Chace’s Pancake Corral, and spending time with his dog. Erickson had an easygoing and amicable manner, always seeing the bigger picture and not sweating the details. He could always be counted on to lend an ear. Remembrances may be made to Childhaven, 1035 SW 124th St., Seattle, WA 98146.

Erickson is survived by his wife, Patty, his parents, three brothers, and 11 nieces and nephews.

Stanley E. “Sandy” Erickson was born November 26, 1945, in Everett and died May 14, 2005, in Bellevue, aged 59.

Wayne C. Booth Sr.

At the age of one, Booth moved with his family to the Skagit Valley in 1917. He attended school in Burlington and graduated from the University of Washington Law School in 1939. After graduation he married Maxine Berger and settled in Seattle.

Booth practiced law for nearly 60 years. He served as president of the Seattle Bar Association and as president of the Seattle Library Board. He was named Outstanding Citizen by the Municipal League of Seattle and King County in 1965 and by the Association of Washington Cities in 1966.

The family suggests remembrances be made to a favorite charity or Hospice of Kitsap County.

His wife, Maxine, preceded him in death, and he married Nancy Ford. He is survived by his wife, Nancy, six children, two stepsons, nine grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Wayne C. Booth Sr. was born on March 21, 1916, in Wichita, KS, and died on May 9, 2005, in Poulsbo.

Samuel W. Peach

Peach began his college education in 1937 at the University of Washington, majoring in chemical engineering, rowing on the crew team, and participating on the swim team. His college career was interrupted by World War II when he was stationed in Paris and flew many solo missions as a P-38 pilot providing reconnaissance photos for the Allied Forces. After the war, Peach returned to earn his law degree from the UW Law School in 1947. He then clerked for the Washington State Supreme Court. For the next 52 years, he had a solo practice in Bellingham. He was best known for his expertise in railroad right-of-way litigation. He argued the first civil case published by the newly created Washington State Court of Appeals in 1969. Peach retired in 2000.

Peach loved the practice of law and described himself as a “country lawyer,” focusing on representing individuals rather than corporations. His interests included golfing, the Mariners, swimming, tending to his fruit trees, and watching his grandchildren’s sports games.

Peach is survived by his wife, Kate, four children, seven grandchildren, and two step-grandchildren.

Samuel W. Peach was born on March 29, 1919, in Port Townsend, and died April 26, 2005, in Bellingham, aged 86.

Roger W. Johnson

The family hardware store in Rantoul, Illinois, gave Johnson the resources to imagine, plan, and build his dreams. The incredible play structure that he built for his children provided many hours of delight. It was here, while repairing this gift of 20-plus years for the next generation, that he passed away.

Johnson’s children were his priority. He encouraged them to think critically, to love, and, most of all, to see value in themselves and others. He enjoyed sailing, fly fishing, woodworking, hiking, and kayaking.

Johnson is survived by his wife, Beth, and his three children.

Roger W. Johnson was born in Champaign, IL, on March 13, 1943, and died May 21, 2005, aged 62.