Frank Hanawalt, who hosted Dr. King at Garfield, dies

As principal of Garfield High School in the turbulent 1960s, Frank Hanawalt was on the front lines of the city's battles over civil rights and desegregation.

He withstood hate mail and death threats when the city's most racially diverse school hosted the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1961. For nearly 20 years after his retirement from Seattle Public Schools, he led a foundation whose mission was to aid needy students.

"His values were clear and consistent," said his son Peter Hanawalt, of Tualatin, Ore. "Everyone has equal value, and your actions have to reflect that."

Mr. Hanawalt may be best remembered as the principal who expelled a Garfield student who went on to make a name for himself in music: Jimi Hendrix.

Mr. Hanawalt died Aug. 18 at 87, from the complications of kidney failure.

He grew up in Puyallup, where his father, Paul, was school superintendent for several decades. He was first exposed to racial injustice when Japanese-American high-school classmates were forced into internment camps in 1942. He visited them at the Puyallup fairgrounds but encountered blatant racism among some community members when he tried to mobilize support for his friends, recalled another son, John Hanawalt, of Seattle.

He was again confronted with racism when he served as a lieutenant in the Navy in 1943-46. He asked that an African-American crew member, who at the time could serve only in the kitchen, be allowed to apprentice with him in the radio room. The captain ordered Hanawalt reassigned to another ship, John Hanawalt said.

Mr. Hanawalt met his future wife, Jean Allen, at a Seabeck, Kitsap County, retreat in 1942. They wrote daily letters during his service in the South Pacific and were married 10 days after his ship's return. Relatives said the two remained lifelong partners in the cause of social justice until her death in 1996.

After earning a master's degree at the University of Washington, Mr. Hanawalt began a 34-year career in Seattle schools.

He started teaching in 1947 at Roosevelt High School and went on to be a counselor at Queen Anne and Cleveland high schools and vice principal at Ballard and Roosevelt high schools.

He was 37 when in 1959 he was named principal at Garfield High School, in the heart of Seattle's historically African-American community and a magnet for high-achieving students of all races. A Seattle Times profile that year describes his blond crew cut, youthful athletic appearance and 6-foot frame.

Mr. Hanawalt marched with members of the city's African-American community for desegregation in housing and employment, and in pressing for more educational opportunities for disadvantaged youth. He was one of the primary authors of the "Seattle Plan" to voluntarily desegregate Seattle schools.

When the Rev. Samuel McKinney, of Mount Zion Baptist Church, asked if he wanted King to speak to Garfield students during the civil-rights leader's only visit to Seattle in 1961, Mr. Hanawalt immediately said yes. But once the invitation became public, Mr. Hanawalt received hate mail at the school and a telephoned bomb threat at home, said his son John.

In later years, Mr. Hanawalt recalled that the civil-rights leader greeted him at the door to the high school and reassured him that the speech would be a positive experience for the students.

Mr. Hanawalt also recalled that partway into his speech, King stopped and looked out on the student body, which was an equal mix of African Americans, whites and Asian Americans.

"You are a beautiful student body," King told the students, who erupted in cheers.

Mr. Hanawalt may be most famous as the principal who expelled Hendrix in 1960. His son John insisted that it was not, as legend has it, for dating a white girl or driving a stolen car to school, but because the future rock star didn't attend class.

The Black Power movement in Seattle fueled calls for an African-American principal at Garfield. In 1968, Mr. Hanawalt resigned, citing health reasons. John Hanawalt said his father held no bitterness.

"He had great respect for the decision. He felt it was time."

While principal of Garfield, Mr. Hanawalt met Saul Haas, the founder of KIRO radio and the parent of a student. Haas gave Mr. Hanawalt $500 to help needy students as the principal saw fit.

It was the start of the Saul & Dayee G. Haas Foundation, which Mr. Hanawalt headed for 19 years after his retirement from Seattle Schools in 1981. The foundation makes grants in 875 schools across the state.

In addition to his two sons, Mr. Hanawalt is survived by son David, of Camas; a sister, Ruth Nelsen, of Des Moines; and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Memorial-service plans have not been finalized but will be posted on the funeral home Web site, www.bonneywatson.com.

Remembrances may be made to the Haas Foundation, 911 Eighth Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109; or www.haasfoundation.org.

Seattle Times news researcher David Turim contributed to this report.

Lynn Thompson: 206-464-8305 or lthompson@seattletimes.com