Presidents of Rotary 1960-1969
Elwood “Woody” Miller
President Yakima Rotary Club 1960
Woody was born in Prosser, WA, on November 29, 1916, and passed away on May 28, 1992, in Yakima, WA. After attending Prosser schools and graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in transportation, he served as an officer in the U.S. Navy during WWII, and eventually retired from the Navy Reserves with the rank of Lt. Commander.
Following the war, he moved with his wife, Anne, to Yakima where he was employed by Bell Wyman Chrysler Dodge, and later owned Yakima Transfer and Storage.
He joined the Yakima Rotary Club in 1951, was club president in 1959-60, and served as Governor of (then) District 506 in 1973-74. In 1977, he was awarded the District Citation for Meritorious Service. Along with his Rotary service, Woody was an elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Yakima, a long-time board member of the Salvation Army, and a member of the Board of Yakima Memorial Hospital.
He was survived by three daughters, all married to Rotarians, and a grandson Rotarian. His daughter Marianne was married to Corwin King, also a District Governor of Rotary.
John S. Applegate
President of Yakima Rotary 1961
John Applegate, known to everyone as “Bud” was born October 22, 1909 in Walla Walla, Washington, and died February 7, 2001 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. He graduated from the University of Washington Law School in 1941. Immediately following graduation, he joined the U. S. Navy and spent three years in the South Pacific as a gunnery officer.
After the War, he returned to Yakima to work for the C. W. Halverson Law firm. After three years, he and Halverson became partners and formed the firm of Halverson & Applegate. He practiced law with that company for forty years until his retirement.
He was president of the Yakima Rotary Club in 1961 and remained a member of the club until his death in 2001. He also was active in the community as a member of the People to People Initiative to Russia in 1962, the Y.M.C.A. as its president and was an Elder in the Presbyterian Church.
After retirement he divided his time between Yakima and Hawaii. In addition to publishing two books, he provided scholarships and encouragement to students at Whitman College, Heritage College, Yakima Valley Community College and the University of Washington Law School.
John Gavin
President Yakima Rotary Club 1962
Lewis John Gavin, Jr. was president of the Yakima Rotary Club in 1962. An attorney, born in Spokane, Washington, he attended public school in Spokane, South Bend, Washington, Fresno, California and Portland, Oregon where he graduated from high school.
In 1935, he graduated from the University of Washington School of Law. While at the university he was also a member of the track team, and for a short time held the world record for indoor javelin throw.
John and Veda Hutchings were married in Yakima in 1940 at St. Paul’s Cathedral.
For nearly 60 years he practiced law in Yakima and was a partner in several firms, retiring in 1992 from Gavin & Robinson which he had formed with another Rotary President, Walter Robinson. In addition to his law practice, he was very active in local, regional and national legal associations. He belonged to the Yakima Country Club, the Washington Athletic Club, The University of Washington Alumni Club and acted in a Little Theater Group.
John died December 2, 1997 in Yakima.
J. Alex Maxwell
President Yakima Rotary Club 1963-1964
Known to all as “Lex,” James Alexander Maxwell was born in 1910 in Yakima. His first job after graduating from Community College was as a bookkeeper at a local bank. A few years later, he took the same position at Yakima Federal Savings and Loan in 1936 and retired there as President in 1972.
During World War II, he served in the military, and it was the only time in his professional career that he was away from Yakima Federal. He and his wife Mary (Burns) Maxwell were the parents of five children.
His passion was mountaineering and his impact on the sport in the Northwest was great. In addition to writing a book on the subject of outdoor cooking titled Gorp, Clop & Glue Stew, Lex was an avid climber. He summited most of the major peaks the mountains of the West. At one time, he climbed Mr. Rainier with the goal of skiing down it. Records don’t indicate how that venture ended.
He was the first Washington member of the American Alpine Club outside of Seattle and was one of the founders of the Central Washington Mountain Rescue organization in1953. He was a member of many business and civic organizations and president of the Yakima Rotary Club in 1963-1964.
Lex Maxwell died in Yakima in 2007 and was buried at Calvary Cemetery.
Harland Hofer
President Yakima Rotary Club 1964
Dr. Harland Glenn Hofer, known to his Rotarian friends at “Har-Ho” was the club president in 1963-1964. He was born and raised in South Dakota. After graduating from the Des Moines (Iowa) College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1941 he moved to Seattle for his hospital internship and then located to Yakima. His entire career as an Osteopathic physician and surgeon was in Yakima where was a founding member of the New Valley Osteopathic Hospital.
Harland and his wife Evelyn (Becker) Hofer loved to travel and were a part of the People to People Cultural Exchange Program, traveling to many countries. He was also a part of many professional organizations, and was appointed by the Washington State Governor to the Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons Licensing Board of Examiners for four years. He died in December 2002 at the age of eighty-four.
Hans M. Skov
President Yakima Rotary Club 1964-1965
Hans Martin Skov was a graduate of the University of Washington in 1937 with a degree in Engineering. He was a State Surveyor in Yakima and worked on the construction of Grand Coulee Dam. Skov was born in Seattle in 1914 and married Beulah Marie (Billee) Allert the same year.
During World War II, he served in the U. S. Army Combat Engineers as a Second Lieutenant in the invasion of Saipan and as a Captain and Company Commander in the invasion of Okinawa. His Company received the Presidential Unit Citation.
Skov owned and operated Yakima Cement products, Yakima Asphalt Paving, and two affiliated businesses in Toppenish and Sunnyside. In addition to serving as President of Yakima Rotary in 1964, he was a member of the Masonic Lodge and Shriners. He was a board member of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital and a member of the Presbyterian Church.
He died June 8, 1991 in Yakima and was buried at Terrace Heights Memorial Park.
George L. Pinnell
President Yakima Rotary Club 1965-1966
George Lewis Pinnell was born in Carterville, Missouri on March 2, 1921. He was raised and educated in Missouri moving to Yakima in 1937, and joined his father in starting Pinnell Office Equipment the same year. In 1942, he married Joan Russell from Walla Walla. He and Joan operated the company until selling the business to his son Rick in 1981. Rick was also president of the Yakima Rotary Club in 1988-1989.
During the Second World War he served in the Army Air Corps as a Second Lieutenant and pilot, and after the war remained for a time in the Army Reserves.
George was president of the Yakima Rotary Club in 1965 and was also involved in many civic organizations in Yakima., serving on the boards of United Way, Yakima Credit Bureau, and the Yakima Greenway. He served two terms on the Red Cross National Board of Governors and was its State Fund Chairman.
He and Joan loved to travel and after retirement visited much of Asia, Europe, and Africa. They also spent time in Maui, Hawaii.
Wray R. Brown
President Yakima Rotary Club 1966
Wray Robert Brown was born April 1, 1914 in Yakima and died October 1, 1989 at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Yakima. He was married to Rosella Bragstad who he first met in Junior High School. Wray worked most of his professional life in the grocery business, eventually opening Wray’s Thriftway in 1955. By his retirement in 1975, he owned four retail stores.
In 1964, he was appointed to fill a seat on the Yakima City Council and was re-elected to two more terms. He retired from the Council in 1976. In 1975 Governor Dan Evans appointed Wray to a four-year term on the Washington State Economic Assistance Authority.
He was president of Yakima Rotary in 1966 and was a member of the Masonic Lodge, Yakima Valley Visitors and Convention Bureau, Yakima Valley Museum, and the Yakima Elks Lodge. Wray and Rosella were members of Wesley United Methodist Church. He played golf, enjoyed carpentry and photography.
James W. Nolan Jr.
President Yakima Rotary Club 1967-1968
James Walter Nolan Jr., who was best known to many in Yakima as “Uncle Jimmy” worked most of his career in the radio and television industry. The “Uncle Jimmy” came from the children’s program he hosted on KIMA-TV from 1953 to the late 1970’s. This photo of “Jim” was on the “membership cards” each of the kid received when they were on his TV show.
Jim, who was known as Bud to his family, was born in Moscow, Idaho in 1918. The family later moved to Cowiche, where they operated two apple orchards.
After graduating from Washington State college in 1940, he began his broadcast career at KUJ in Walla Walla, where he met and married Esther Rehberg. After three years in the Army during WW II, he started to work at WKIT radio and KIMA-TV in Yakima. In addition to being “Uncle Jimmy” he was a newsman, weatherman and eventually program director. After 28 years in broadcasting, he retired with Esther to Purdy, Washington, near Gig Harbor. In addition to being president of Rotary in 1967-1968 he was involved in a number of community organizations. Jim Nolan died in Gig Harbor in 2004.
Clifford E. Miller
President Yakima Rotary Club 1968
Clifford (Cliff) Miller died at his home in Yakima November 19, 2012. He was born in 1920 and raised on a farm near Sunnyside where he and his brother helped milking cows every day. Cliff met his wife Valeta (Schader) Miller when they were in high school and they were married for 72 years.
After his discharge from the Army following World War II he returned to Yakima where he worked in a camera store for eleven years before opening his own store, “Cliff Miller’s Cameras.” He retired in 1980 to spend more time playing golf, gardening and working with his computer.
Cliff was president of the Yakima Chamber of Commerce, the Yakima Credit Bureau, the Knife and Fork Club, the Elks. as well as the Yakima Rotary Club which he headed in 1968. Cliff and his son Dave (president in 1991) were another of the father-son teams who were presidents of Yakima Rotary. He belonged to Wesley United Methodist Church and the Yakima Country Club.
Maxwell J. Vincent Jr.
President Yakima Rotary Club 1969
Maxwell (Max) James Vincent was born June 30, 1928 in Yakima where he grew to adulthood. He graduated from Washington State University and the University of Oregon before serving in the Army. After his service in Germany, he attended the University of Washington where he earned a degree in law. He then practiced law in Yakima with his father Lester Vincent and partner Howard Elofson for forty years.
In addition to serving as president of the Yakima Rotary Club in 1969, he was a member of the Yakima School Board and a member of the Yakima Planning Commission. He was also a member of the Yakima Tennis Club and an avid reader and sorts fan. Max died in Yakima, January 23, 2009.