Through out the town flags were flown half mast Sept. 6, and the day was declared to honor former mayor Gary Boothman, who passed away Aug. 30. Boothman served from 1998-2005.

“He was very kind, very accommodating,” his brother in-law Billy Haglund said. “If he couldn’t make something work, he would find someone that could.”

He was elected mayor in 1997, and served two terms, from 1998-2005.

“Gary was chair of the town planning commission before he was mayor,” his friend Jim Slocomb explained. “This was during the contentious period of the brand new Growth Management Plan.”

According to Slocomb, a hallmark of his administration was protection of the community character of the town and protecting the residents from the looming costs of Growth Management Act. A huge portion of those costs were utility bills and transportation infrastructure. The Washignton Department of Transportation, at the time, wanted to turn the downtown core into a huge transportation hub including two full ferry ramps, overhead walkways and no parking on Spring Street.

“Gary said no in the critical meeting so to this day our downtown is largely intact,” Slocomb said.

It wa a highly contentious Mayor’s race against Bill Laporte. Boothman knocked on every door in town at least twice, according to Slocomb, and won by a substantial margin. Laporte had substantially more money and Slocomb said “Bill complained to me that “he had all the money in the world and nobody to work for him.”

Boothman was quoted in the Nov. 12 1997 edition, “My number one priority is to find alternative funding for water and sewer upgrades.”

Through out his tenure, he did his best to keep things on an even keel. Town staff who worked with him recalled his gentle and professional demeanor.

Town Public Works Administrative Assistant Paula Bey was a new hire when Gary was in office, and she recalls that he very positive toward the employees, saying he made a point of stopping to tell individual employees they were doing a good job and that he appreciated them.

Being a mayor was only a sliver of Boothman’s life. He was a craftsman and made the tables in the Council Chambers around which the Town Council continues to conduct business.

Boothman was a cabinet maker and had a shop near where the Fire Department is currently located. According to his nephew, Johnny Haglund, nearly every house he lived in, minus his childhood home and the last house, Boothman had built himself.

Boothman grew up in California, attended UC Davis, majoring in philosophy, his friend Dick Barnes said. Johnny added that he studdied history and spoke Spanish as well. Barnes and Boothman met playing tennis and became steadfast friends. Barnes has taken in Boothman’s 15-year-old golden retriever Molly.

He loved to travel, and combined with his passion for baseball, it makes sense that he visited every single major league baseball stadium in the country. Boothman was a Red Socks fan and watched them break their 86 year long curse in 2004. Of course, being from the Pacific Northwest, he also was a Mariners fan. He also coached little league for a number of years, passing the love of the game on to young islanders.

Through sailing on his boat, “The Grasshopper” Boothman traveled all over the world.

“I loved hearing his stories. He was such an interesting guy,” said Johnny.

He met friends Chita Miller and Roger Morris through Dick Barnes and sailing, which led to sharing other passions like cooking. “He was a genuinely nice man with a good heart. We would have terrific discussions and share recipes.”

It always came back around to sailing, however. “You know what they say,” Miller laughed, “Once a sailor always a sailor.”

Contributed photo Gary Boothman and his little league team.