A lawyer by trade, Jim Ellis (1921-2019) was a civic activist who helped transform Seattle and King County with his work to clean up Lake Washington, create Metro, and push for passage of Forward Thrust initiatives in the late 1960s. Emmett Watson, the venerable newspaper columnist, wrote in 1982: "The next time a national magazine, or a book, places Seattle among the top-ranked cities in America, as it surely will do, it is good to remember why that is. It is because of Jim Ellis." In this excerpt from Ellis's memoirs, he writes about Forrest "Forry" Walls, a fellow attorney and outdoorsman who helped preserve the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.
Glue for Bond Lawyers
Forrest Walls, known as Forry to his friends, was born in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on January 3, 1939. His parents moved to Seattle, where he was raised and graduated from Queen Anne High School in 1956. He went on to attend Seattle Pacific University and graduated from the University of Washington Law School in 1963.
Forry and I became close confidants throughout our years of working together at Preston, Gates & Ellis, and later K&L Gates. In fact, of all the lawyers working in what became the Municipal Department, Forry was the one attorney who assisted me the most after he became an experienced bond lawyer in his own right. Forry practiced law at Preston, Gates & Ellis, and later K&L Gates, for 37 years. He was well respected and honored by his clients and colleagues throughout his vareer. He served in the role of managing partner of the Preston municipal finance practice until his retirement in 2001.
Forry was able and willing to fill in for me if I was unable to attend the closing of a bond issue. I remember once when he closed a bond delivery for me in New York. He discovered that one of the certificates in the transcript required was missing. He verified the original then prepared a new certificate and the closing continued as if the mistake had never happened. With a verified receipt attesting to proper signing and delivery of bonds and supporting documents everything was closed according to plan and the purchaser was never aware of the potential problem. I came to rely on his judgment and careful attention to detail.
Forry met his wife, Viola, at a Seattle Pacific University alumni function and the two were married in 1965. They lived in the same house in Edmonds all their married life. Two boys were born to this family, and eventually they were blessed with two granddaughters.
Outdoorsman
Outside of the office and the practice of law, the two of us shared a strong personal interest in the environment and in the native history of our area. Forry had many interests, but his great love was the outdoors. He began hiking and fishing as a teenager, then mountain climbing, summiting many of the peaks of Washington, including five Rainier summits, a McKinley attempt, and mountains in Ecuador and Mexico. He was an avid sailor for 25 years and while the two of us did not have the opportunity to camp or hike together, we shared an intense common interest in supporting the creation of the Mountains to Sound Greenway and the designation of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area around Snoqualmie Pass.
When the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area was being considered for federal protection, Forry became a founding member and officer of the Alpine Lakes Protection Society (ALPS) and later the Alpine Lakes Foundation. The federal set-aside of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness by Congress was due in no small measure to Forry’s pioneering advocacy. After his death, a granite bolder in the wilderness was marked in his memory by an unknown friend who knew Forry had played a quiet, key role in making the important set-aside happen.
Forry and I both also enjoyed collecting glass fishnet floats and Indian artifacts. He was well-read and highly sympathetic to American Indian culture. During his many work-related bond trips to Alaska, Forry managed to find a number of prized floats on remote Alaskan beaches.
I would be surprised if many of his non-lawyer friends knew just how effective Forry was as a practicing lawyer. He was careful and modest in all his activities, was a responsible leader of our municipal bond department, and became widely known in the profession as an able, meticulous, and highly respected bond attorney. Years of increasing civic commitments required me to frequently be absent from the office. I will never be able to repay Forry for always being there to cover for me. I came to trust his integrity and sound judgment. After our colleague Don Holman’s death, Forry became the manager of our municipal bond practice.
When Forry was diagnosed with symptoms of Parkinson’s, he didn’t quit working. He chose to stay active and remain involved in the law practice as long as he was able and he and his wife, Vi, continued to host firm outings at their Puget Sound waterfront vacation home near Shelton. Following his retirement, Forry and Vi continued traveling together to Africa, Europe, and Peru up until his death in 2009.
