By Sophie Petersen
King County Bar was saddened to learn of the passing of Fred Noland. He was an innovative KCBA board president, a consummate gentleman, and an unwavering advocate for justice, peace, and global understanding.
Raised in the Midwest, Fred pursued his education on the East Coast, earning degrees from Williams College (B.A.), American University (M.A.), and Columbia Law School (J.D.). His lifelong commitment to global service began early. He taught English in Hong Kong in 1961 and later served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Isfahan, Iran, where he taught History of Western Civilization and English.
From 1968 to 2001, Fred practiced law in Seattle with MacDonald, Hoague & Bayless. His civil rights and litigation work championed the rights of American Indian tribes, public school teachers, and many others whose constitutional protections had been denied.
He also played a key role in the historic desegregation of Seattle’s public schools and was a founding member and first president of Ploughshares: Returned Peace Corps Volunteers Working for Peace, established during the Cold War in 1984.
In 1991, Fred took a five-year leave of absence from law to lead groundbreaking co-operative U.S.-Soviet projects in Uzbekistan, Armenia, Ethiopia, and closer to home, in Yakima. In 1992, he helped organize Peace Trees Vietnam and took part in its first land-mine clearance initiative in the former Demilitarized Zone. His devotion to landscape restoration earned him honorary membership in the American Society of Landscape Architects.
As president of KCBA in 2001, Fred took the Bar to a new level of public policy advocacy when he launched the Drug Policy Project. Focusing on a humane, health-based approach to drug abuse which prioritized decriminalization, education, and treatment, the project became a national model for treatment-based responses to drug addiction. Fred’s generous support of the King County Bar Foundation at the KCBA Annual Awards Dinner helped raise vital funds for the Bar’s pro bono projects. The top earning KCBF auction item for many years was a stay in his beautiful home in Spain.
In 2005, Fred was awarded the Helen M. Geisness Award by KCBA for exemplary distinguished service on behalf of the King County Bar Association.
Fred was a true champion of justice and a dedicated citizen of the world, and he will be remembered for his charisma, vision, and commitment. He truly was one of the greats, and he will be missed. King County Bar is proud to have been a small part of his remarkable life of service.
Heartfelt condolences to the Noland family. An obituary is at obituaries.
seattletimes.com/obituary/frederick-noland-1092955089.
Sophie Petersen is KCBA’s Marketing & Communications and can be reached at sophiep@kcba.org.
