District mourns colleague's death

John Humphrie was by all accounts a man of integrity and passion.

The director of labor relations for the Seattle School District, he attracted scores of friends with his magnetic personality. Those friends gathered yesterday to mourn the unexpected death of a man dedicated to education and racial integration in both his professional and private life.

Mr. Humphrie suffered a heart attack Friday night at his South Seattle home. Paramedics were unable to revive him, and he died shortly after 10 p.m. He was 47.

Head of the district's labor relations since 1997, Mr. Humphrie was previously the student-assignment manager in charge of integrating Seattle schools.

"The bulk of us are average but John was not average in any category," said Mr. Humphrie's boss, Mike Jones, the district's executive director of human resources. "He was genuinely dynamic and probably the smartest person I have ever worked with."

Jones said he was leaving work Friday evening when something compelled him to return to the office to talk with Mr. Humphrie.

"We had a personnel issue and he'd done a great job handling it," said Jones. "I got to my car but decided to walk back in and thank him for the fine work he did that day. I'm sure glad I did that because it was the last time I saw him."

Later that night, Mr. Humphrie was on the sidelines at the Rainier Community Center, coaching his 9-year-old son's basketball team.

"All the kids called him `Coach John' and he sure did like that," said Norm Elder, who coached basketball and soccer with Mr. Humphrie three days a week for three years. "John's philosophy was about giving all the kids a chance and teaching them sportsmanship, respect, and how to have fun. The way they looked at him, you could see the admiration."

An avid fly-fisherman, a gourmet cook and a Bob Marley fan, Mr. Humphrie was also "a heinous driver," joked his friend and fishing companion Doug Horton.

"He did so many things but driving was the only thing he didn't do well," Horton laughed. "He was my best friend - but John was a lot of people's best friend."

Jim Harvey, who met Mr. Humphrie and his wife, Molly, during their college days in Pennsylvania, said "John always managed to stretch people beyond their preconceived notions of their own limits."

The middle of five children, Mr. Humphrie grew up in the Philadelphia projects before moving to a neighborhood of row houses, where his was one of only two black families. Six years later, he would recall, there were only two white households on his block.

His elementary school was segregated and his junior-high school had only a few white students, Mr. Humphrie told Seattle Times columnist Jerry Large in a 1996 interview. In 1967, he chose to attend a magnet high school for the sciences; there were 25 black students in a population of more than 4,000. Because he was an athlete, he won instant acceptance that made his experience different from that of other black students, Mr. Humphrie said in the interview.

"I got to interact in different cultures and I had a very good experience," he said. "It gave me the ability to have a profound appreciation for differences among people and an ability to interface with different people. I have a very high comfort level. I don't feel like I'm stepping out of my comfort level regardless of where I am in Seattle."

He completed degrees in sociology and anthropology at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania before entering the University of Washington Law School in 1977.

Although he completed law school, Mr. Humphrie didn't take the bar exam because his passion was for education.

Mr. Humphrie was hired by the Seattle School District in 1988 to implement a revision of its desegregation plan. Three years ago, he was made the director of labor relations.

"He was a very intelligent guy who commanded a lot of respect," said Seattle schools Superintendent Joseph Olchefske. "He was definitely a straight-shooter and he was a fun guy to be around."

In addition to his wife, Mr. Humphrie is survived by his daughter, Jamila, 11; and son, Jonathon, 9. He is also survived by his brother Charles and sister-in-law Minerva Humphrie of Seattle; sister Sylvia and brother-in-law Tyronne Brooks of Newark, Del.; brother Nkruma and sister-in-law Carmen Olinga of Lindenwald, N.J.; brother Tony and sister-in-law Margie Humphrie of Langhorne, Pa.; numerous nieces and nephews as well as his wife's siblings and their spouses.

A private funeral service will be held later this week for family and close friends. Plans haven't yet been finalized for a remembrance service to be held Saturday evening. Those interested in attending can contact Sue Byers at the Seattle School District at 206-298-7199 for details.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to the Montessori Programs in Seattle Public Schools through the Alliance for Education or the Seattle YMCA Camp Scholarship Fund.

Sara Jean Green's phone message number is 206-515-5654. Her e-mail address is sgreen@seattletimes.co.