Thaddeus Spratlen

1930 - 2021

Thaddeus Spratlen
May 28, 1930 - May 18, 2021
Seattle, Washington - Thaddeus H. Spratlen passed away peacefully on May 18. In his nearly 91 years he led a pioneering and visionary life filled with love, teaching, social justice activism, philanthropy, research and innovation. Thaddeus was born on May 28, 1930 in Union City, TN. He left the South as a teen to fulfill his early academic promise and restless desire to be a leader. He married Lois Marie Price of Virginia in 1952. Thaddeus served with distinction in Korea. He and Lois had five children.
Thaddeus received his PhD in Marketing from the Ohio State University in 1962 and began his five decades in academia with a position at Western Washington University when it was a state college. The University of Washington Foster School of Business recruited Thaddeus in 1972. He distinguished himself across the three key university missions—teaching, research and service—and retired as Professor Emeritus in 2002. Thaddeus and Lois were known for their activism in local causes, including for peace, justice, educational access and youth mentoring. Thaddeus also was an innovator, serving as the first faculty director of a UW Foster Business School service learning program that turned business students into consultants to local businesses. He mentored hundreds of students in formal and informal ways well beyond the gates of the university.
Thaddeus is survived by his five children (Pamela, Patricia, Paula, Khalfani and Townsand) as well as nine grandchildren and six great grand children. To learn more, including about donations in lieu of flowers, please see this link:
https://blog.foster.uw.edu/remembering-thaddeus-spratlen-trailblazing-scholar-teacher-mentor-and-advocate/