Former Friday Harbor mayor LaPorte dead, at 77
Published 7:15 pm Monday, April 13, 2015
Odds were that you wouldn’t see eye-to-eye, regardless of the topic, and that he might try to “get your goat.”
But the chances were even better that any discussion or debate with Bill LaPorte would be a pleasure.
The former Friday Harbor mayor (1994-97) and San Juan County Councilman (2000-03), an avid motorcycle enthusiast and champion of the once heralded San Juan Island jazz festival, died of natural causes at home, onboard his boat, the Miss East Tawas, Monday, April 6. He was 77.
LaPorte had recently returned to the island after learning in September he had suffered a heart attack, and spending several months recuperating at the home of his eldest daughter, Bridgette, in Bothell.
“He was a fighter,” Bridgette said. “And very political, he was always that way. And he had a great sense of humor.”
Humor would prove one of the most oft-used instruments in the LaPorte toolbox, along with an infectious enthusiasm and unbridled energy, according to King Fitch.
Fitch, who served five different mayors during a 25-year-tenure managing the Friday Harbor business affairs, said when all was said and done that LaPorte’s political priorities took a backseat to his fondness for cultivating friendships.
He embodied the very idea of the “everyday common man,” Fitch said.
Born in Bay City, Mich., second in a family of nine children, LaPorte migrated to San Juan Island more than 30 years ago. The father of three daughters and a foster son, and grandfather of six, he made a living in a variety of occupations over the years and gravitated with ease into the arena of local politics.
The town council honored LaPorte last week by naming the Town Fire Association’s 1923 Cadillac fire engine “The Bill LaPorte.”
The longtime owner of Sea-Cure Services, a local fire safety company, LaPorte long-held the position of president of the Friday Harbor Fighters Association.
“We are proud to honor him and his many years of service and friendship by designating his favorite fire engine as his namesake,” Mayor Carrie Lacher said in a press release. “He will be deeply missed.”
The town unveil “The Bill LaPorte” later this year.
— Scott Rasmussen
