Ronald Rex Boucher, Sr. passed away in Kirkland, Washington on Monday, January 15, 2018. Born on December 13, 1933, he grew up in Oroville, Washington, where he graduated from Oroville High School in 1951.

After briefly attending Gonzaga University, he joined the Army in 1953, where he spent two years in Korea. After serving his tour of duty, he lived in New York for two years, then returned to Seattle to attend the University of Washington, where he earned a B.A. in History and met his future bride, Carol Jacobson. They were married in 1962.

That same year, Ron began what would become a nearly 50-year career in education. Starting as a teacher at Lake Washington High School in Kirkland, he soon became a counselor and then activities coordinator at Redmond High School. In 1968, he earned his Master’s Degree in Education and–after receiving his administrator’s credentials — became the first vice-principal of Rose Hill Junior High in Redmond in 1969. He went on to become the principal of Redmond Junior High from 1973-1983 and Kirkland Junior High from 1983-1990. During those years, he received several distinguished honors. In 1984, he was appointed to the Lake Washington School District’s Project 2001 committee and was subsequently selected to present the committee’s findings to Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.

In 1989, he received the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Education, being recognized for having one of the top ten schools in the state. After retiring from the Lake Washington School District in 1990, he soon took on a “second career” as a student advisor and program coordinator at Seattle University, where he spent 15 years placing student teachers and playing a key role in shaping the direction of the Master in Teaching Program. He finally retired in 2008.

Ron spent most of his life in Kirkland, Wash., where he and his wife, Carol, settled to raise their three children. He is survived by his daughter, Catherine Carol Peters; his son, Richard Douglas Boucher and his four grandchildren, Caitlyn Elise Peters; Ronald Brett Boucher, Christopher Ronald Peters; and Bailey Marie Boucher.

Donations can be made in Ron’s memory to the Lake Washington Schools Foundation at https://www.lwsf.org/.