By Theresa Goffredo
Herald Writer
SNOHOMISH — Before the 1998 bond issue passed, Fire District 4 had no water tanker. And that made it tough for the rural fire company because there aren’t any hydrants out in the boonies.
But Nancy Wardlaw lent her help and the bond passed, getting the district not only a tanker truck but its first four-wheel-drive brush and rescue trucks.
As a member of the Snohomish City Council, Wardlaw will be remembered by some as a voice for public safety and as an advocate for the city. She died Saturday of cancer at age 65.
"She was able to get consensus," District 4 Fire Chief Bob Merritt said Monday. "She was not the crack-the-whip type of person."
Wardlaw served three terms as Snohomish councilwoman from March 1978 to December 1984, and then was appointed to a vacant seat in August 1991, which she held until 1995.
As a councilwoman, Wardlaw was one of the original members of the Joint Board for Fire District 4 and the city of Snohomish in 1982. She saw the board through significant changes. One was when the city gave up management of the fire district and turned it over to fire officials. Another important change was when the district improved its response times by going to 24-hour coverage with career firefighters during the day and volunteers on-call at night, Merritt said. Wardlaw was a supporter of those changes.
"She loved us," said Merritt, adding that Wardlaw’s son, Dale Loveland, is a District 4 volunteer firefighter.
Wardlaw was also a board member of the Snohomish Chamber of Commerce and the Snohomish Civil Board. She also served on the board of directors for the Everett Symphony.
Former Snohomish Mayor Ann Averill said Wardlaw helped spearhead an esprit de corps among city officials, a feeling that they were all in it together. That feeling was fostered by something never done before —planned social events at which council members got to know each other.
Those gatherings helped the council create a bond.
"We worked on several significant issues that involved difficult decisions," Averill said. "But Nancy always came prepared to make decisions and never shied away from making hard decisions."
You can call Herald Writer Theresa Goffredo at 425-339-3097
or send e-mail to goffredo@heraldnet.com.
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