John Paul Price

Loving husband, father, Papa, son, brother, uncle, mentor, friend, dog whisperer, gentle soul, John died unexpectedly and suddenly on December 30, 2011 but with time for family to gather and be with him in his final hours.

John, a resident of Seattle, was born October 11, 1934, in Nampa, Idaho to John M. Price, Jr., and Naomi A. Price. He was raised on a small farm and lived in Idaho for many years and loved returning to be with family. No meal was complete without Idaho mashed potatoes.

He attended Kenwood and Lakeview Grade Schools and graduated from Nampa Senior High School in 1952 as class Vice President. He was active in Boy Scouts and Masonic youth Program, DeMolay, becoming a Master Councilor. He achieved both the Red Cross Water Safety Certificate and the YMCA Leader Examiner Certificate. He attended Boise State College, did a tour in the US Army in Germany where he was a sharpshooter and rode escort to the atomic canons as part of the US Army of Occupation and upon discharge was recruited to swim at the University of Idaho. He graduated from the University of Idaho with a degree in Education in 1958.

John taught high school social studies in Boise then earned his Masters in Counseling from Washington State University and became a counselor. He left education briefly to market textbooks in Idaho, Washington and Alaska for Harcourt Brace World, returning to education as a counselor when Interlake High School opened in Bellevue, Washington. He earned his Principals credential and served as an Assistant Principal at Interlake for several years before becoming Principal of Bellevue High School. His long, successful and rewarding career in education was culminated as Director of Human Resources for the Bellevue School District where he was determined to put the “person” back in personnel work. No matter what the position, he cherished most his relationship with people and took great pride in helping students and staff overcome challenges and manifest their unique gifts and strengths. As Director of Personnel during a period when the district was rapidly losing student population, he was most proud of developing programs like Retraining Grants that prevented the layoff of tenured teachers.

John was an active member of Bellevue Kiwanis as well as local and state professional associations such as the Washington School Personnel Association where he served on the Board.

His first marriage in 1957 was to Dixie Gross. They had 4 children: Michael, Steven, Susan Lynn (deceased), and David. John married Sarah Phillips on January 2, 1980. Their 32 year marriage focused first on their shared careers in education with summer months spent boating with family and friends and Queen City Yacht Club members in the San Juans and Gulf Islands, first as sailors and then as power boaters. They enjoyed traveling especially to sunny climes with friends during vacations and more extensively after retirement. With a home in Palm Springs they became dedicated bikers, with each morning’s ride leading to John’s favorite cinnamon roll or maple bar. They loved to support the activities of their three boys and grandchildren and nieces and nephews often traveling across the state and even across the country to cheer for endeavors in sports, the arts, vocational and educational events.

While his career was in education he picked up so many practical skills through the jobs that allowed him to put himself through school and support a family on a teacher’s salary. He was a lifeguard and swim instructor; wheat ranch combine driver; horseback-mounted forest service worker, owner and manager of a mineral hot springs, tractor-roto tiller operator, landscape designer, and ambidextrous carpenter. John began swimming as a youth and competed through to the Masters level. A quiet secret was a box full of blue ribbons. He swam breast stroke and butterfly and set a long standing record in butterfly at Inland Empire Swimming championships in1954. In his later years he much preferred easing into tropical waters. John was also an accomplished skier, paddler, sailor, teacher and outdoorsman. While quiet, kind and humble by nature he had a fierce competitive streak and loved to win with that ever-present twinkle in his eye...

John’s dedication to kids and education was paralleled by his love for dogs , a passion for cars and to DIY projects. From his first dog, Pal, to Pepe to Bo and most recently granddogs, John cherished canine companions. He began collecting cars well before he could drive and always had an immaculately maintained special car as a project, including a ‘52MGTD, ’63 Ranchero, ’65 Mustang convertible, ’74 Jensen Healey and most recently an ‘85 Cadillac Biarritz Convertible, perfect for the sunny climate he loved in Palm Springs. His eye for design and talent for craftsmanship put his touch on every property he owned – from small remodel projects to major renovations. As with people, he saw the best in things and brought it out. He was teased that he must carry a dog gene because of his unconditional acceptance of everyone and everything around him. No matter what was shared he always thought it was “Wonderful.” He was happiest when helping someone do something they couldn’t quite manage on their own. “NO” was not a part of his vocabulary.

John is survived by his wife, Sarah Phillips, sons Michael (Wendy), Steven (Annee) and David (Holly); grandchildren Olivia, Amelia and Harrison; nieces and nephews J.B., Beth, Brett, Kevin, John, Donna, Daniel, Martha, Kris, Mark, Russell, Warren, Carolyn and a large extended family of cousins, great nieces and nephews. John was preceded in death by his parents, his first wife, Dixie, his sister, Mary Jean Price Troxel and his daughter, Susan. He is also survived by his brother, Don Price, MD (Rosie) and sister Ann Price (Doug) Anawalt, his in-laws Margery Phillips, Larry Phillips (Gail), and Anne Williams (Don).

John requested that there not be a memorial service. The family will scatter his ashes at sea this summer when the weather is warm, sky is blue and breezes light as John preferred. A celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, July 21st at the Blue Ridge Community Beach Park & Cabana( if fair weather) or Clubhouse (if foul weather) from noon - 3 PM.

In lieu of flowers, a charitable contribution in John’s memory may be made to the Seattle Humane Society, Real Change News, Palm Springs Animal Shelter or Guide Dogs of the Desert.

Arrangements under the direction of Acacia Memorial Park & Funeral Home, Seattle, Washington.