Dean Echelbarger: A head for business, a heart for community

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, August 21, 2018

EDMONDS — Dean Echelbarger had a head for business and a heart for community. A World War II veteran, he came home to work in his family’s business. He became the prime mover behind south Snohomish County’s transition from a rural to residential place.

“He worked very hard,” said Mike Echelbarger, the eldest of Dean and Gladys Echelbarger’s three sons. “He was in the right place at the right time.”

Leo Dean Echelbarger died Aug. 14 in Edmonds. He was 95.

“He was a man who cared, and who had a really great vision for Snohomish County and south Snohomish County very early on,” said Edmonds Mayor Dave Earling. “He was one of the nicest men I have ever known.”

Hank Robinett served on the Snohomish County Airport Commission with Echelbarger. “He was a true American — a real leader,” Robinett said. “He was all for advancing the county, as far as good jobs. He was forward-looking all the time.”

The son of Leo Franklin Echelbarger and Helen Chase Echelbarger, he was born Dec. 6, 1922. He was one of nine siblings raised in then-rural Alderwood Manor — in what’s now a historic Lynnwood home.

He is survived by sons Mike, Pat and Lindsey Echelbarger and their wives; by six grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife of 57 years, Gladys Echelbarger, who died in 2001.

It was in the early 1960s, Mike Echelbarger said, that his father was developing lots for construction. He recalled his dad telling how he would find and buy a piece of property, then write down on a napkin where he wanted to put a road. He sold lots for as little as $200.

“When Dad was born in 1922, the population in Edmonds, the biggest town in south county, was about 1,000 people. Alderwood Manor had maybe 150,” said Lindsey Echelbarger, at 66 the youngest son.

Today, Mike Echelbarger heads Echelbarger Investments, LLC, a Lynnwood-based real estate development company. Dean Echelbarger played a huge role in shaping south county, but his work life began behind the wheel of a truck.

By his mid-teens, he was working for his father’s hauling business, Edmonds Auto Freight Company. Alderwood Manor was a chicken-farming area, and 14-year-old Dean was driving down Aurora Avenue to Seattle to deliver eggs.

Before graduating from Edmonds High in 1940, he lied about his age to join the National Guard. He served in California and then in Hawaii after the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. After Officer Candidate School, he was stationed at the Army’s Camp Campbell, Kentucky.

He met his future bride in Clarksville, Tennessee. They married in 1944, the year before his 20th Armored Division was sent to France. On April 29, 1945, his was among three U.S. Army divisions to take part in the liberation of the Dachau prison camp in Germany. Fifty years later, in 1995, he and his wife visited Dachau.

Echelbarger served in the Army Reserve until 1963, when he retired as a major.

The family business transformed from freight hauling to fuel oil delivery, and became one of the state’s largest fuel dealerships.

“When you run a small business with your brothers, you share night duties,” Mike Echelbarger said. He remembers his father being so tired from delivering fuel oil, he’d fall asleep while out to dinner.

By 1968, the fuel business was sold. Echelbarger developed thousands of residential lots, and constructed many south county retail and office buildings. The 1967 restoration of the historic Beeson Building in downtown Edmonds was a point of pride.

A founder of the Edmonds Community College Foundation, he was also proud of a building constructed for the college near Paine Field, Mike Echelbarger said. One of Dean’s grandsons, Nicholas Echelbarger, is chairman of the EdCC foundation’s board.

Dean Echelbarger was known as much for civic activities and philanthropy as he was for business.

In 1959, he was on a planning commission for the newly formed city of Lynnwood. He served with the first county executive, Willis Tucker, on the Snohomish County Airport Commission, and was president of the Snohomish County Economic Development Council. In 1986, Tucker established a Dean Echelbarger Community Service Award.

“He was a philanthropist, a generous person,” said Earling, adding that Echelbarger was also quite modest.

Larry Hanson, The Daily Herald’s former publisher, said whenever a community need would arise, Echelbarger stepped up. “He had a great business head, but he had a good heart,” Hanson said.

Hanson recalled Echelbarger’s work at the beginnings of what became the Alderwood mall. The DeBartolo Corp. was the mall’s developer, but Hanson said Echelbarger played a key role.

“Dean was a greatly respected businessman in the early days of Lynnwood. His name was synonymous with integrity and honesty,” said Mike Pattison, Snohomish County manager for the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties. “Dean’s legacy, he and his entire family are dedicated to community and philanthropy.”

Bob Drewel, Snohomish County executive from 1992 to 2004, described Echelbarger as “a remarkable man who had a vision and purpose.”

“He was an absolute engaged citizen,” Drewel said.

When he was new to politics, Drewel remembers talking with Echelbarger. “He helped me be a better candidate, frankly,” Drewel said. Echelbarger didn’t seek favors regarding real estate dealings, but Drewel said he asked something of government — “consistency and predictability.”

Lindsey Echelbarger, president of the Cascadia Art Museum in Edmonds, said his father “learned to sort of do everything” while growing up on the 5-acre Alderwood Manor farm.

“They were formed by the Depression,” Lindsey Echelbarger said. “He knew next to nothing about building a building or subdividing land. He taught himself how to do these things.”

Mike Echelbarger said their father didn’t join a country club or play golf. “His leisure time was working on community activities,” he said. Drewel agreed that Echelbarger’s hobbies were family, business and community.

“Dean was one of those folks we could use many more of these days,” Drewel said. “He had firmly held opinions, but never held them at the expense of other people.”

Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; jmuhlstein@heraldnet.com.