Robert Wanamaker `Knew The History Of The Area And Could Tell You Everything'

Robert Allison Wanamaker was a man of manners and taste, "a fine gentlemen when there aren't many," said his wife of 40 years.

Though modest, Mr. Wanamaker did take pride in his heritage. His mother, Pearl Wanamaker, was a state legislator and superintendent of public instruction. She helped get Deception Pass Bridge built. She took her son to legislative sessions, commuting partly by ferry from their home in Coupeville on Whidbey Island.

His father, Lemuel Wanamaker, a civil engineer who surveyed roads on the island, took his son with him on surveys. One road bears the Wanamaker name.

Mr. Wanamaker, a Redmond resident since 1992, died of cancer Monday . He was 65.

"We've been here so long," said his wife, Betty Lou Carmichael Wanamaker. "He was raised in Coupeville, but his mother came into Seattle to deliver him, and he went to Roosevelt (High School). He was into showing movies. He knew the history of the area and could tell you everything."

He also helped his wife garden, and restore homes and antiques during time off his job as a Boeing engineer.

"Definitely his background shaped him," said his daughter, Lisa Benzaoui of Nashville. "He was a refined, calm man, and everybody had a lot of respect for him."

After graduating from Roosevelt, Mr. Wanamaker enrolled at the University of Washington, where he earned a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1953. During the Korean War he served in the Air Force.

He went to work for Boeing in the mid-1950s and stayed 40 years, retiring recently from the engineering-management team.

"He worked all on the military side, Minuteman and things like that, then put in 10 years on the president's airplane, Air Force One," said his wife. "He did the maintenance and was a spare-parts engineer."

Mr. Wanamaker also was a past Master of LaFayette Lodge No. 241 and belonged to the Washington Athletic Club and the Washington State Pioneer Association. He also enjoyed traveling, reading, studying antiques, and working on computers.

"He was into all this equipment and just loved computers, phone lines, things that make things easier for some people but not for me," his wife said. "I said, `Why don't you work for Microsoft?' But money wasn't important in his life. He could sit on a stick and be happy."

Other survivors include his son-in-law and grandson, Youssef Benzaoui and Josef Benzaoui of Nashville.

Services are at 11 a.m. Monday at Bonney-Watson Funeral Home, 1732 Broadway, Seattle.

Remembrances may go to Tumor Institute, c/o Swedish Medical Center Foundation, 747 Broadway, Seattle, WA, 98122.

Carole Beers' phone message number is 206-464-2391. Her e-mail address is: cbee-new@seatimes.com