Dave Williams Memorial Scholarship

Dave Williams was a proud 1963 Everett Seagull graduate where he participated in drama, music, and Sea Scouts. He attended college and studied drafting, later working for Boeing designing tools until Boeing had a huge layoff in 1969. He then moved to Chehalis to be near his parents and worked as a cartographer for Lewis County for over forty years.

He became a proud Bearcat when he married W. F. West High School English teacher, Janelle Aust in 1970. From that point on, Dave could be found attending sporting, music, and drama events. He also helped with all the projects Janelle and the Forensics Team she coaches were involved in, including Youth Fair, graduation, concessions and the Winter Ball – for 25 years. For one theme of Paris in Winter, Dave built a 35 foot tall Eiffel Tower for the corner of the Commons. The students’ first impression of Dave was that he was very quiet, but they soon learned that, if they picked certain subjects (music, guitar, golf, Civil War) he was quite talkative.

He was known and appreciated by several generations of students. Having no children themselves, Dave and Janelle always planned to set up a scholarship fund, focusing on the hardworking students with little financial support. Education is important to Dave’s family. His older sister taught kindergarten, a younger sister worked as an educational assistant, and three nieces are teachers. Both Dave and Janelle believe strongly in the Pay It Forward theory.