PORT ANGELES — People who knew Peninsula College’s founding father described him as a visionary who helped build the college from a single building to the thriving campus people see today.
E. John Maier, who was Peninsula College’s president when the doors opened at Port Angeles High School on Sept. 18, 1961, died at age 91 Monday.
Maier was a resident at Park View Villas, a retirement community in west Port Angeles.
“John was such an important factor to getting the college off to a good start,” said Helen Radke, a North Olympic Peninsula education icon in her own right.
Radke, 93, was a member of the Port Angeles School District board, which appointed Mr. Maier president in August 1960.
Mr. Maier’s son, Bill, said he remembers his father traveling to various locations on the North Olympic Peninsula to plan for the college’s opening.
“Sometimes he was out every night of the week promoting the college and listening to what people wanted,” Maier, 55, of Port Angeles said.
“He must have talked to 100 or more different clubs and organizations that first year, trying to get the college going.”
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