Bill Waggoner Dies; Kirkland Booster, Pragmatic Idealist

Bill Waggoner, chairman of the Kirkland Planning Commission, felt a subtle kinship with King Arthur.

Not only had he played the legendary monarch in a high-school production of the musical "Camelot," but as a leader he tempered idealism with realism.

He also coached young people in sports and never gave up trying to improve Kirkland.

"Bill had a wry pragmatism that kept people focused and in perspective," said Kirkland City Councilman Larry Springer. "As a planning commissioner advising the City Council on land use, Bill knew there were never any quick answers. He realized the solutions are complex and interwoven. Land use evolves over time. It is never finished. He would not put up with one-line, sound-bite answers from politicians and other people."

Mr. Waggoner died Thursday (June 12) of complications from lymphoma. He was 41.

He had been involved in 45th District politics for more than a decade, and he lost a bid for the Legislature in 1984.

Born in St. Helena, Calif., Mr. Waggoner grew up in nearby Napa, where he acted in plays. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in drama with a minor in business in 1979 at the University of California at Davis.

"He really liked to perform," said his mother, Elaine Edwards of Longview. "But it also was for the training, maybe for a career in public work. In drama you learn poise, how to speak in front of people."

Mr. Waggoner moved to Kirkland in 1979 and worked as a

building-material sales representative. In off hours he played basketball and coached his children's teams at Kirkland and Bellevue Boys and Girls Clubs. He also had been a member and officer of the Kirkland and Bellevue Kiwanis clubs.

In the late 1980s, he served on the Kirkland Growth Management Commission. That led to his involvement with the Kirkland Planning Commission, a job he enjoyed.

"He just really liked doing positive things for his community and for his state," his mother said.

Other survivors include his son, Ryan Waggoner of Kirkland; father, Larry Waggoner of Santa Rosa, Calif.; stepfather, Jack Edwards of Longview; grandmother, Loreta Macdonald of Napa, Calif.; brothers, Larry Waggoner of Kirkland and Christopher Waggoner of San Marcos, Calif.; sisters, Linda Waggoner of Petaluma, Calif., and Cathy Johnston, of Etna, Calif.; and former wife, Katie Easen, of Lake Stevens, Snohomish County.

Services are at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Holy Spirit Lutheran Church, 10021 N.E. 124th St., Kirkland. Memorials may go to Evergreen Hospice and Health Care Foundation, 12910 Totem Lake Blvd. N.E., Suite 200, Kirkland, WA, 98034; or to Kirkland Boys and Girls Club, 10805 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98033.