Washington Business Spring 2018 | Washington Business | Page 47

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Photo courtesy of the Washington State Archives
Married for 63 years, John and Lois Spellman have a great love story.
Can you explain Mrs. Spellman’s role as the wife of the governor while
also being the mother of six?
Pat Dunn, center, shares a light moment with two governors:
Dixy Lee Ray, left, and John Spellman. Photo courtesy of
Pat Dunn
“He was very low key, which made all
of us love working for him. He was no
drama and he would actually read the
materials you gave him.”
Mrs. Spellman was a full partner in the governorship. We used to laugh that
if a staffer got in trouble with Gov. Spellman, it would probably be OK. But,
if a staffer or cabinet secretary got in trouble with Mrs. Spellman, you had a
serious problem on your hands. The Spellman’s were very devout Catholics
in the Jesuit tradition. Mrs. Spellman cared deeply about issues of the day,
particularly social issues. She very quietly worked while in the Governor’s
Mansion to help the poor and the marginalized in our society. She very quietly
“twisted arms” to get food to food banks — no flash, but, boy, she worked hard
at that. When you got summoned to the Mansion to “chat” with Mrs. Spellman
you knew you were in for tea, cookies and a long list of assignments.
She also looked out for her husband. She was very protective of the family.
She wanted their six children to have as normal an upbringing as possible.
As staff you did not mess with the schedule. If it said, “family time,” we were
expected to respect that, and we did. She also cared a lot about her “office
family” and that meant a lot to those of us fortunate to work for Governor and
Mrs. Spellman.
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