Walt Crowley
Walt Crowley | |
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Born | Walter Charles Crowley June 20, 1947 LifeBorn in Ferndale, Michigan, the only child of engineer and inventor Walter A. Crowley and Violet King (now Kilvinger), Walt lived in Royal Oak, Michigan, Flint, Michigan, the Washington, D.C. area and Connecticut until 1961, when his father was hired by Boeing and moved to Seattle.[1] Crowley graduated from Seattle's Peace & Freedom Party ticket.[1]
Facing possible conscription in 1967, the 20-year-old Crowley described his politics first as " Trotskyist overtones, flavored with a pinch of Che Guevara, a dash of Carmichael and a tablespoon of Ho Chi Minh," before qualifying that his "political disposition [was] far more eclectic" than a description like that could account for, and ending a somewhat lengthy statement with, "you do not understand my philosophy because when you find out where it's at, it will already have moved."[3]
Crowley's service as mediator between the Seattle officials, local leaders, and the community's street people led to the founding of a youth hostel and social service agency called the U District Center, which Crowley directed from 1970 to 1972. He later worked for the Seattle Model Cities Program and then for the city itself in various planning and outreach roles. He returned to private industry in 1977 and ran unsuccessfully for the Seattle City Council.[1] He had a variety of civic involvements afterwards, including serving as president of the venerable civic organization Allied Arts. In 1980, Crowley formed Crowley Associates, which publishes guides to Seattle and provides services for many local political campaigns. He was a columnist and commentator in many local forums, most notably having a seven-year run in a "Point-Counterpoint" format with conservative John Carlson on KIRO television.[1] Crowley wrote several histories of local civic institutions, from the elite Rainier Club to the blue-collar Blue Moon Tavern. He led the campaign to save the Blue Moon from demolition, ran the task force that drafted new laws to restore historic Downtown theaters, and served on numerous other civic projects.[1] HistoryLink.orgIn 1997, Crowley discussed preparing a Seattle/ History Ink on November 10, 1997, with seed money from Priscilla "Patsy" Collins, by birth a member of Seattle's wealthy and prominent Bullitt family.[4]
The prototype of HistoryLink.org debuted on May 1, 1998, and attracted additional funding for a formal launch in 1999. In 2003 HistoryLink.org expanded its content to cover Washington state history. Meanwhile, History Ink continues, focusing on the production of history books.[1]
Crowley and HistoryLink.org have won many awards, including
Personal lifeWalt Crowley married graphic designer and business associate Marie McCaffrey in 1982.[1] In 2005, Crowley was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer and fought it with characteristic stubbornness; the night before his larynx was removed, he held a "Famous Last (Natural) Words" party.[5] He died at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle on September 21, 2007, at the age of 60, after suffering a stroke following an operation for the cancer.[6] Bibliography
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