William K. Longwell

My belated memories and condolences of Mr. Longwell. I have never forgotten what Mr. Longwell meant to me. In 1967 (9th grade) at McKnight Jr High I was blessed to have Mr Longwell as my English teacher. I was a struggling student with very low self esteem. I do not know why, but he reached out when he saw me reading Jane Eyre. He believed in me as a person, he helped me with my grammar (still a work in process), and included me in hikes in our beautiful state that I will never forget. ...

Mr Longwell will always be my favorite teacher. I still am inspired by his dedication and caring, even 52 years on. Jan Culp, Hazen class of 1970

I was surprised to see this message pop up in my email, but the truth is, I think of Mr. Longwell often. I knew him at McKnight and Hazen. He was my favorite teacher and I will never forget him. He showed such kindness and caring toward students--everyone, really. I still miss him.

I met Bill Longwell through the Issaquah Alps Trail Club. I helped him on several different occasions construct and maintain trails on both Tiger and Squak mountains in Issaquah. I just learned of Bills passing and am saddened to hear it. He was a very kind and intelligent person who loved to hike the hills near his home. I have hiked extensively for almost 40 years and Bill was one of the strongest people I ever walked with. He always felt, along with Harvey Manning, that it was important to...

To say that Bill Longwell was my mentor implies that he passed along a love of literature or history. He did do that, but much more, Mr. Longwell’s mentoring was as a human being, moving through the world with kindness, respect, and caring for others. He was a mentor in life. We had a lot of remarkable teachers who moved with our class (Hazen 1970) from McKnight. I am grateful to all of them for helping shape who I am today, and I share in their loss of a friend. My heart goes out to...

What a wonderful man! Mr. Longwell was my teacher at McKnight Middle School in 1965-66. What I remember best was the hike that he took our class on plus the letter he sent home to my parents at the end of the school year - sharing. Again, what a wonderful man and we will miss him. Our thoughts are with his family and the whole community that Bill held dear to his heart.

Mimi, Anne and Gretchen,
We were so sorry to hear of Bill's passing. From McKnight to Hazen and after he was such a huge part of the "Hazen" family. He was a favorite teacher and dear friend to so many. He always had such a great smile and was the absolute epitomy of a gracious gentleman. Please know we are thinking of you during this time and that we feel honored to have known him. May you you find comfort in knowing there are some great Highlanders waiting to welcome him and that many...

I had Mr. Longwell for American Literature when I attended Hazen in the 1980's. He taught me to love literature and to find the nuances in each word of every book we ever read. He was a wonderful man and a top notch teacher. My deepest sympathies to his family and friends at this time.

Mimi, Ann and Gretchen:

I was very sad to hear of Bill's passing. He will be greatly missed. I will always cherish my memories of those June ocean hikes that he took us on. I still have the Japanese glass fishing float that I discovered on one of those hikes.

My thoughts are with all of you at this difficult time.