Account Established - 2007

Provided by -  The endowment was established through memorial contributions from friends in 2005 and by a donation in the spring of 2007 from the Blakely family.

Purpose & Criteria - It will be awarded to a graduating senior at Bothell High School who has a sincere desire to continue education and is determined to find success.  It may be used at a public vocational school, community college or a public 4-year college or university. 

Application & Selection - Candidates do not apply.  The recipient will be nominated and selected by the staff at Bothell High School.  The winner will be notified by May 1.

    Congressman Lloyd Meeds lost his battle with cancer at age 77 and former Northshore School District superintendent Lee Blakely died on his birthday at age 87. They shared a work ethic and compassion for others that should prove a model for today�s youth, as well as to those who seek to enter public life. Neither was too busy to consider the needs of those they served nor did either duck the tough issues of their day.

    Lee Blakely moved to Kenmore in 1955, where he became principal of Kenmore elementary and later advanced to the role of assistant superintendent for instruction. In 1974, he was appointed superintendent to direct the entire district for the next seven years until his retirement.

    Like so many of his long-time friends and associates, I have many fond, personal memories of Lee. I could always count on a friendly greeting from him when he would slap a huge helping of spaghetti on my plate at the annual Kiwanis 

dinner held before each Inglemoor-Bothell football game. In attending school board meetings, I vividly recall the times a school board member would ask Lee for a recommendation and his response would invariably be pointedly wrapped in �whatever will be in the best interest of the kids.�
     Like so many of his long-time friends and associates, I have many fond, personal memories of Lee. I could always count on a friendly greeting from him when he would slap a huge helping of spaghetti on my plate at the annual Kiwanis dinner held before each Inglemoor-Bothell football game. In attending school board meetings, I vividly recall the times a school board member would ask Lee for a recommendation and his response would invariably be pointedly wrapped in �whatever will be in the best interest of the kids.�  

His wife of 64 years, Velma, preceded Lee�s death by only a month. He was devoted to her, and, for many years following his retirement he continued to nurse her through a long period of declining health. To keep in touch with friends and build new friendships, Lee turned his hobby of tinkering with lawnmowers into a backyard, cottage-style repair service.

     Here was a man who held the respect of teaching peers, parents, graduates and community leaders alike. He knew how to listen and he surely had learned how to lead. Lee was old-school when it was still fashionable to exemplify what you learned growing up: a farm boy from the heart of the Palouse country who started a lifelong career in education in a town called Plaza. At Plaza, with enrollment only 40, Lee Blakely taught grades five through eight, served as acting principal as well as coach, janitor and bus driver.