PORT TOWNSEND — Brent Shirley, a community leader and former mayor of Port Townsend, has died. He was 83.
A memorial service is scheduled for noon Saturday at Northwest Maritime (formerly the Northwest Maritime Center), 431 Water St.
Shirley, who died Nov. 29, served on the Port Townsend City Council and as mayor from 1981 to 1993.
He was instrumental to the creation of Northwest Maritime, said David King, also a former Port Townsend mayor.
“There would not be a Northwest Maritime Center but for Brent Shirley,” King said. “He saved the Thomas Oil property from being developed. When he was mayor, they changed the ordinance. It was called the midnight moratorium, to keep the developer from developing it.”
The moratorium paused development on the waterfront, said Sheila Westermen, who was serving on the city council at the time.
Westermen said the meeting really nearly hit midnight.
“We didn’t cut off the testimony,” she said. “There were hundreds of people there, and by the time everybody was done, it was really almost midnight, literally. It was a very close vote.”
Northwest Maritime CEO Jake Beattie said Shirley was “extremely visionary.”
Beattie said that he imagines that, 20 years ago, it would have taken a huge leap of faith to envision the reality of an educational campus and community center, focused on Port Townsend’s maritime history, in what was essentially a “derelict tank farm.”
“He saw it,” Beattie said. “And made it happen. It’s incredible.”
Dave Robison said Shirley hired him to be one of the city’s first planners. Robison worked on the city’s first urban waterfront plan. After the two left their time at the city, they worked on Northwest Maritime together. Shirley was the founding president of the board, serving from 1999 to 2005, and Robison was the founding executive director.
“We created a new nonprofit, ended up purchasing the property, cleaning it up, and merged with the Wooden Boat Foundation, and then built the buildings,” Robison said.
Shirley was one of the last who served in the strong mayor form of government before Port Townsend shifted to a mayor-city manager model in 1999.
David Timmons, who served as Port Townsend’s first city manager from 1999-2019, said Shirley was one of the first people to come into the city to introduce himself and share insight into its history.
“We stayed in touch after that,” Timmons said. “He was very civic-minded. We didn’t agree on everything, but he never took it personally. He always wanted to collaborate on finding a solution.”
Shirley was particularly interested in seeing economic opportunities come into the city, Timmons said. He understood that could happen through small business, not just box stores, Timmons added.
Timmons said the historical and maritime district was one of three economic anchors the city was focusing on during his time as manager, along with Fort Worden and upper Sims Way. Timmons added that Shirley shared his interest in a maritime center early in their relationship.
“He was critical, key behind its formation,” Timmons said. “He got involved early on, from the very beginning.”
“I’m gonna miss him,” Timmons said. “I always enjoyed talking to him. He always had the community’s heart in mind.”
Shirley also was a key player in bringing the production of the 1982 film “An Officer and a Gentleman” to Port Townsend, Robison said. He even scouted locations for the producers.
“He helped them find homes for the folks that were working. He also helped with extras; they had to have a lot of extras,” Westermen said. “People would come and try to get parts in the movie. Brent was like the ringmaster.”
Shirley also was the owner and president of Brent Shirley and Associates, Inc., a Port Townsend insurance brokerage company. He ran the company from 1976, when he moved to Port Townsend, until 2009, according to his LinkedIn page.
In 2010, he took over as president of The Carwash, Inc.
From 2002 until 2012, Shirley served on First Federal Savings and Loan’s board of directors. He also served as board chair for Bremerton-based nonprofit Skookum, from 1998 until 2009.
“Brent liked to make a difference in his community, and he was very good at inspiring others to get involved and help make a difference,” Robison said. “He was fearless, he was dedicated, and he was a great community leader.”
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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@sequimgazette.com.
