Former Mayor McGinness helped Edmonds develop

Sproule McGinness, a lumber broker who backed up his civic vision with the know-how to turn it into reality, enjoyed a 68-year love affair with Edmonds.

He had lived in the city since 1932, when his parents moved the family there from his native Harlem, Mont.

In the 1950s, he served on the Edmonds City Council when it still met in the basement of the Carnegie Library, now a museum.

Then, for nearly two terms ending in 1962, after helping persuade old-guard city voters to dedicate the new Port of Edmonds, Mr. McGinness served as mayor. He presided over annexations and the building of a new City Hall.

After retiring from the lumber business in 1979, he developed the complex known as Fifth Avenue Plaza, which now houses City Hall.

"I was the one who talked Sproule into running for mayor," said former Edmonds City Attorney Al Holte. "He was bright, and he knew Edmonds inside and out. . . . He also really loved Edmonds and wanted the best for it."

Mr. McGinness died Wednesday (March 22) of complications from a fall. He was 84.

He graduated from Edmonds High School in 1934, then held jobs with the Works Progress Administration and a wireless firm.

He served in the Navy in World War II. During that time a buddy, whose father owned Pacific Lumber and Shipping, invited Mr. McGinness to work for the company after the war.

Mr. McGinness took to traveling and selling in a big way. He toured the West Coast, buying lumber from mills, then traveled to Europe, Asia and India to sell it.

He began involving himself in city politics, joining his friend Holte to sell citizens on the idea of the Port of Edmonds, among other projects.

"Twenty years before he became mayor, he was on the council or Planning Commission," said his wife of 60 years, Marvene Yost McGinness of Edmonds.

"When the previous mayor resigned, the council asked Sproule to fill out the term. When it came time for re-election, he said he'd serve if they couldn't find anyone else. Sproule went on a sales trip, and when he got back, he'd been re-elected."

Mr. McGinness served a second term, then resigned. Public service had started taking too much time from family and work.

"He made a lot of money in the import-export business," Holte said. "He also was instrumental in starting a bank in Edmonds."

Mr. McGinness retired in 1979 after heart surgery.

An avid gardener, he led many groups, including Frank Freese Post 66 of the American Legion, the Edmonds-South Snohomish County Historical Society and the Old Settlers Picnic Association.

Also surviving are his daughter, Lorelee McGinness of Bellevue; his sons, Robert McGinness of Seattle and Jay McGinness of Edmonds; a former daughter-in-law, Charlotte McGinness; a sister, Virginia Specht of Edmonds; his sister-in-law, Patricia Mae McGinness of Puyallup; and three grandchildren.

Services are at 11 a.m. Friday at Edmonds United Methodist Church, 828 Caspers St. Donations may go to the Hope Heart Institute, 528 18th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122-5720; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, P.O. Box 19024, Mail Drop LY-120, Seattle, WA 98109-1024; or the Salvation Army.