Bob McGrath, familiar voice around the region

Longtime local sports fans have probably heard the soaring tenor of Bob McGrath singing the national anthem before a game.

Mr. McGrath, a Northwest fixture at stadiums and concert halls for nearly four decades until the early 1990s, died of a heart attack Saturday in Palm Desert, Calif. He was 85.

The tenor officially retired in 1997, after 37 years of singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" (the 1978 Rose Bowl was a highlight), but he never quit singing.

He was called upon whenever longtime Huskies football coach Don James had a speaking engagement. Fans would recognize Mr. McGrath in restaurants and ask him to perform.

Dick Pryne, a longtime friend who lived in the same Emerald Heights retirement community in Redmond, remembered Mr. McGrath's performances this past Christmas season with a choir he organized.

"Bob often would sing at memorial services here. He was a really great guy," Pryne said.

Mr. McGrath also appeared regularly with the Seattle Opera and Seattle Symphony in the 1960s and early 1970s.

"I have so many happy memories," Mr. McGrath said in a 1997 interview prior to his farewell concert in Seattle. "For about a dozen years, I was a regular with maestro Milton Katims [the late former music director of the Symphony], singing solos in works like 'Carmina Burana' and a concert version of 'Otello.' "

Mr. McGrath also sang in a Seattle Opera "Boris Godunov" production with legendary basso Jerome Hines, and in an "Aida" production with Robert Merrill. He performed on tour as far afield as Singapore, Malaysia and Africa, made several trips to Korea and other locations to serenade U.S. troops, and did international missionary work.

Born in Yakima, Mr. McGrath attended Whitworth College and graduated from Whitman College, staying on in Walla Walla to teach music. He won Metropolitan Opera auditions in both Seattle and San Francisco, but his wife, Sally McGrath, said, "He chose to be a family man, to do what he could in the smaller pond of Seattle. All his life, he gave of himself."

After moving to Seattle in 1954, Mr. McGrath taught biology at Franklin High School and also worked in special-education administration. For 17 years, he was director of music at Bellevue First Presbyterian Church.

Don Duncan, a retired Seattle Times reporter, remembered Mr. McGrath as "a total gentleman with a wonderful singing voice and a sense of humor."

Mr. McGrath is survived by his wife of 63 years, Sally; two daughters and sons-in-law, Kathie and Steve Colwell, of Kenmore, and Kris and Brad Bemis, of Woodinville; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

A memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Feb. 24 at Bellevue First Presbyterian Church, 1717 Bellevue Way N.E. Memorial contributions may be made to the church.

Melinda Bargreen: mbargreen@seattletimes.com