Memorial Service
• Nels Ekroth Memorial will be Thursday August 21 at 2:00 PM at Alki Congregational United, Church, 6115 SW Hinds St, Seattle, (206) 935-2661
• In lieu of Flowers please donate to a chairty of your choice.
• Come with stories & pictures to share.
Obituary by John Repp
Nels Ekroth, a long time Precinct Committee Officer and member of the 34th District Democrats, died Monday, July 27, 2008. He was 89. Nels lived a long life dedicated to the cause of justice for workers and minorities. He grew up in Arlington, Washington and lived near Alki for more than 50 years. He came of age during the Great Depression and joined Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps. He later worked in Alaska and became an officer of the Hodcarrier's local in Ketchikan. He was in the Merchant Marine during World War II, sailing in Pacific. During the McCarthy era, a time Nels called "the Terror", he was called before the Canwell Committee, a Washington State version of the House Un-American Activities Committee. He refused to name names and was blacklisted from the Merchant Marine. Nels then got his Operating Engineer's License so he could work. He retired out of Rainier Brewery as a member of the International Union of Operating Engineers.
Nel's first wife Fair was an activist her whole life, well known in Seattle progressive and Democratic circles. In 1968, they took a nine month trip around the world. Fair died in 1990.
Nels married Jo-Anne Larsen in 1992. She had worked for Dick Nelson, a Democratic State Senator and was a member of West Seattle Democratic Women.
Nels had a wonderful sense of humor and loved to ask uncomfortable questions at 34th District meetings. For example, on the issue of the trade treaties such as NAFTA, Nels would ask "How can a worker here compete with a worker in Mexico who makes one tenth the wages?" Nels will be missed by the 34th District. Contributed by John Repp
Tribute by Jackie Dupras
Nels was our heart and soul. When we seemed to step over the line too close to Republican territory, he was always there to bring us back. I remember when we discussed the problem of our mailboxes stuffed with campaign literature at one of our meetings. He answered in his usual slow, lilting drawl, "If all you want in your mailbox is dividends, then become a Republican!"
Nels had what he described as a "cowboy approach" to work that made it easy for him and Fair to take off on a trip and find a job when they got back. "She seemed always to find a job first and then shame me into getting one."
Ed and I had the pleasure of taking him to Olympia for Legislative Action Day and the Crab Feed. On the way home, after a glass or two of wine, Nels told me of his trip around the world with his first wife Fair. They lived frugally in a tiny house near Alki. Friends thought they should buy a bigger house, new car, but instead they set out on a nine-month trip around the world. Nels told me that not a day went by without his thinking about that trip. It was several years ago and I still remember that conversation. He knew what was important in life. He lived in that house until shortly before his death.
Tribute by Ivan Weiss
Nels made me smile every time I saw him. He was one of the most memorable members in the history of the 34th District. I think all of us who knew him could tell stories about him till the last drop had been drunk.
Nels believed very strongly in an active and robust Democratic Party, that stood for working people first. I considered him an FDR Democrat in the finest sense of the word. If people took the time to listen to him (which certainly could try anyone's patience), they would have understood that behind the slow-talking Scandinavian schtick was an engineer's analytical mind, which cut through bullshit like a laser scalpel.
But I know one thing. Wherever Nels is now, there are Democrats there, and he's holding them spellbound, hanging on his every word, like he did for us for so many years.
Tribute by Ann Martin
His crusty wit and commentary will be missed. Who can forget his slow-but-sure "drawl" as he cut issues to the bone? Nels served as an election poll worker until recently in his Alki Point neighborhood. Both his wives, who are now dead, were strong and active Democrats and served as chairs of the West Seattle Democratic Women, where Nels also was a longtime member.
Tribute by Brian Earl
Nels will be missed, and I feel fortunate to have known him for the short time that I have, I could only imagine how much richer my life could have been if I had known him longer.
Quote by Bruce Stotler
Bruce Stotler's favorite Nels quote: "Non-partisan is another word for Republican!"
Obituary from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Note: This obituary is copyright the Seattle-PI and can be viewed online here.
Nels Ekroth, 1918-2008: Liberal activist had a passion for helping working people
By MOISES MENDOZA, P-I REPORTER
Nels Ekroth espoused progressive causes as one of the Pacific Northwest's quirkiest and best-spoken liberals.
He spoke in a slow, thoughtful way.
But at meetings of the 34th District Democrats, of which he was a longtime member, he was always passionate and convincing, remembered district Chairman Ivan Weiss.
Ekroth died Monday of natural causes in Shoreline. He was 89.
Ekroth grew up in Arlington. His father and mother were immigrants from Europe.
Nels Ekroth was a staple at Democratic meetings.
From a young age, he knew he cared about labor issues, said his stepdaughter, Kim Larsen.
But his passion for workers came to a head as the Great Depression hit the country, Larsen said.
That's when he roamed from worksite to worksite, working for a while planting trees in Alaska and getting a job dealing with cows on a dairy farm.
He eventually joined the Civilian Conservation Corps.
And he made friends with homeless people on trains.
"I think that experience really shaped his thinking," Larsen said.
Eventually Ekroth joined the Merchant Marine and became a labor union organizer.
During World War II, he traveled the world before snagging a job on the Seattle waterfront.
But he and his wife, Fair Taylor, soon found themselves in a spot of trouble that they would become well-known for.
In the 1940s and '50s, the country became embroiled in a series of scares over supposed communist infiltrations.
Because Ekroth had become a prominent organizer, a government commission that was supposed to root out communist infiltrators targeted him.
Even though family members say Ekroth was far from a communist – he was just trying to help workers get their due, Larsen said – he was blacklisted and booted from the Merchant Marine.
That incident left him scarred for years, said close friend John Repp.
"It think he felt really hurt by what was done to him," Repp said.
But that didn't mean Ekroth gave up on his beliefs.
He and his wife continued showing up at protests and pushing the issue of workers' rights.
Fair Ekroth became known as an area ultraliberal who peppered local newspapers with letters. When she died in 1990, the Seattle P-I praised her as someone who "stood behind her beliefs."
Meanwhile, Nels Ekroth struggled to find work and eventually was hired to run boilers, heating plants and other industrial machines.
He worked for the Rainier Brewery until his retirement.
After Fair Ekroth died, he married Jo-Anne Larsen. She died in 2002.
He continued to attend meetings of the 34th District Democrats and was a staple there, Weiss said, appearing at one final meeting not long before he died.
Fair and Nels Ekroth donated a series of labor-related photographs to the University of Washington over the years. A collection there bears their names.
In addition to his stepdaughter, Ekroth is survived by a sister and a stepson.
Photo Gallery
Click any Image to Enlarge
Nels on Whidbey Island
Nels at Granite Falls on his birthday, 2006
Mayor Greg Nickels gets a laugh from Nels, 2006
Nels speaking to the 34th in 2006
Top photos courtesy Kim Larsen, Nels' stepdaughter. Bottom photos by Bill Schrier
Send any tributes, photos or updates to this information to the webmaster.
Website Copyright 2008 34th District Democratic Organization
Send comments or questions to the Webmaster.
