booth gardner - Washington Secretary of State

Next, he sat for an interview with Bob Partlow for The Olympian and the other
Gannett papers. He talked about Parkinson’s and revealed that his marriage to Jean was
headed for divorce. He regretted that, but said he’d met someone new and special in
Europe. “I’ve never been happier,” Gardner said. “I don’t have to do a damn thing I don’t
want to any more.”
When he had goals he felt alive. The Booth Gardner Parkinson’s Care Center opened
on July 3, 2000, at Evergreen Hospital Medical Center in Kirkland. Key allies in the project
were Dan and Nancy Evans and Nancy’s nephew, Bill Bell III. Bell’s mother and stepmother
– Nancy’s sisters in law – and godfather
suffered from Parkinson’s, as did Dan’s
brother. They had become increasingly
frustrated by the lack of specialty care
for Parkinson’s in the Puget Sound area.
“What we needed,” Bell says, “was a
holistic, one-stop shop for Parkinson’s
care, including a Movement Disorder
specialist and a myriad of therapists –
neurologists, nutritionists, social workers
and counselors – all working together, to
ensure people with Parkinson’s can have
an optimum quality of life.” Bell became
the foundation’s executive director, Booth chairman of the board. The center now sees
more than 10,000 patients per year.
On January 5, 2001, the Gardners’ 40-year marriage ended in divorce. Eight days
later Booth married Cynthia Robin Perkins in Las Vegas in a quiet ceremony attended by a
few family members and friends. His ex-wife got the news from the media.
* * *
Booth and Dan Evans were back on the campaign trail in 2003, seeking more
money for higher education. They had attended a luncheon that spotlighted the growing
technology gap at Washington’s universities. The Evergreen state was losing limbs and its
edge. Boeing moved its corporate headquarters to Chicago. Someone asked Microsoft’s
Bill Gates to cite the most important single thing a concerned citizen could do to promote
a better economic future for the state. “Support your local university,” he said. Afterward,
Gardner called Evans, asking, “Did you hear what I heard – and are you as concerned as I
am?” Evans had and he was. “Booth is the one who lit the fire under me,” Evans says. “The
message at that luncheon was that we were in trouble. The key to our future is how good
we are, and how good we are depends on how well educated we are. Brains are now our
most important natural resource. Higher education – particularly our research universities
– is all about our future.” Still, Evans says he had no idea what Gardner was getting him
Nancy Evans greets Booth. Dan Evans looks on.
Photo courtesy Dick Baldwin.
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