Letcher L. Yarbrough, 83, Was Former Head Of City, State Naacp

Letcher L. Yarbrough, whose family came to Seattle in the 1890s, experienced his first deeply humiliating encounters with racism while serving in the U.S. Army in World War II, according to his wife, Arline Yarbrough.

But instead of making him bitter, it made him active.

Mr. Yarbrough, who died last Saturday just short of his 84th birthday, went to work immediately after his discharge in 1944 to assist returning World War II veterans in securing housing and employment.

"He was never one to seek recognition, but was effective at the conference table and his candor was respected," said Mrs. Yarbrough, who would have celebrated 60 years of marriage with Mr. Yarbrough in November.

He was president of the Seattle branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in the mid-1940s and later state president. With others, he helped pass the Washington State Fair Employment Practices Act of 1949.

Among his prize mementos of that era was a picture taken with now-retired Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, according to his son, Letcher Steward "Jim" Yarbrough.

"He was a devoted disciple of the fight for freedom," said Charles Stokes, former Seattle District Court Judge who served three terms as a state representative starting in 1951. "Letcher was instrumental in helping bring about the desegregation of the system."

Mr. Yarbrough was active in many civil/human rights organizations and committees, including the National Conference of Christians and Jews, Seattle Army Terminal Standing Grievance Committee, Christian Friends for Racial Equality and The Urban League. He was a mayoral appointee to the Seattle Civic Unity Committee.

He went to work as assistant director for the Seattle Urban League in 1976 after retiring as Regional Equal Employment Official for General Services Administration in Auburn. In later years, he worked in commercial real estate.

He began his career as a laborer, after graduating from Garfield High School in 1927. He attended one year in pre-med at the University of Washington but was forced to quit because of lack of finances.

He worked as a rivet heater for the Department of Highways, a bartender at the 411 Club and a steward aboard the intercoastal cargo vessel, the SS Frasch.

When the Great Depression interrupted their educational plans, the Yarbroughs decided to make their marriage their substitute careers, Mrs. Yarbrough wrote in an essay published in The Seattle Times for Black History month last February.

"We scraped together enough for the marriage license and meager home furnishings and lived on Letcher's eight-day-a-month salary," Mrs. Yarbrough recalled.

The setback of the Great Depression was followed by the shock of World War II, and Mr. Yarbrough's first real taste of racism.

When he was honorably discharged in 1944, things had changed at home, too. The war had brought many new people, black and white, from all parts of the country. According to Mrs. Yarbrough, they brought patterns and attitudes that were not acceptable in a multi-racial community.

And so the Yarbroughs went to work to make changes, working beside such civil rights champions as Justice Marshall, Walter White and Roy Wilkins.

There were brighter times, too.

The Yarbroughs moved from Seattle to Kirkland in 1950 and settled in their dream home on Lake Washington in the Rose Point area. The Yarbroughs traveled around the world and enjoyed trailering, boating and Husky football.

In 1972, the Yarbroughs became one of six founding couples of ROOTS (Relatives of Of Old Timers in Seattle), which holds annual reunions of African American families who lived in Seattle prior to World War II. Last year's picnic attracted more than 1,000 participants.

"Over the years, we've tried games, dances and other activities," Mr. Yarbrough told a reporter in 1985, "but people really want to sit and visit. That's the epitome of success, when people just want to sit and talk."

Services for Mr. Yarbrough will be held at 1 p.m. Friday in Bellevue at the Sunset Hills Memorial Park, in the Chapel. A reception will follow at 3 p.m. at the Seattle Central Area Senior Center, 500 30th Ave. S.

The services will be officiated by a nephew, Terrence Roberts, who was one of the "Arkansas Nine" students involved in the desegregation of the public schools of Little Rock. He is presently with the psychology department at UCLA.

Mr. Yarbrough, who died after a long illness, is survived by his wife and son; grandchildren Kimberly, Lane, Leland, Cameron, Leah and great-grandson Nelson; a brother, Richard Yarbrough of Los Angeles; two sisters, Raniki Cooper and Thelma Gunn, both of Seattle; and numerous nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations be made to the Group Health Hospice Program, 521 Wall St., Seattle, WA 98121; or Central Area Senior Center, 500 30th Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98144; or ROOTS, P.O. Box 3021, Kirkland, WA, 98083-3021.