Roy A. Avent; He Served As Role Model

The West Seattle Bridge, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and other Seattle projects owe their existence to the expertise of Roy Andrew Avent.

But Mr. Avent may be remembered more for being "part of a pioneering movement to increase the involvement of blacks in (engineering)," as a Seattle Times reporter wrote in 1977.

Mr. Avent died Monday (Aug. 4) of complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. He was 62.

Mr. Avent, a Nashville native, mentored young people and created work for other architects and engineers of color.

"He was very smart, a go-getter and very innovative," said his wife of 12 years, Alyca Avent of Bellevue. "The black engineers didn't get the percentage of work they should have. He was always trying to make it right. Even in March, when he was ill, he had gone to the mayor's office to discuss how to get more blacks in the Regional Transit Authority."

In 1957, after graduating with a degree in civil engineering from Tennessee State University, Mr. Avent became the first African American bridge-design engineer at the Federal Highway Administration in Arlington, Va. He worked on bridges in the East and Southeast, including on the Natchez Trace Parkway.

In 1960 he became the first African American bridge engineer for the Michigan Highway Department. He came to Seattle in 1962 to work for Boeing as a structural and weight-control engineer on commercial aircraft.

In 1971 he opened offices in Seattle and Portland for Fred Jordan's San Francisco-based engineering firm. As executive vice president, Mr. Avent helped manage Seattle waterfront street and parking projects. He also worked on the West Seattle Bridge. And he advised Seattle mayors and Washington governors on engineering issues.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s family honored him for engineering Seattle's King Memorial - the second-largest in the U.S. after Atlanta's. The Washington Society of Professional Engineers in 1994 named him Professional Engineer of the Year.

"Roy was a role model, one of those people you look up to," said his wife. "He liked to read and find out about all kinds of things and all kinds of people."

Other survivors include his children, Michael Avent of Seattle, Cathy Avent of Renton and Gregory Avent of Kirkland; his sister, Gwen Rouse of St. Louis; his brothers, William Avent and Harold Avent, both of Los Angeles; and one grandchild.

Services are scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at Dayspring & Fitch Funeral Home, 5503 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle. Carole Beers' phone message number is 206-464-2391. Her e-mail address is: cbee-new@seatimes.com