John Spellman

John Spellman
18th Governor of Washington
In office January 14, 1981 – January 16, 1985
Lieutenant	John Cherberg
Preceded by	Dixy Lee Ray
Succeeded by	Booth Gardner
1st King County Executive
In office May 1, 1969 – January 14, 1981
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Ron Dunlap
King County Commissioner
In office January 1, 1968 – May 1, 1969
Preceded by	Scott Wallace
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Personal details
Born	John Dennis Spellman (1926-12-29)December 29, 1926 Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Died	January 16, 2018(2018-01-16) (aged 91) Seattle, Washington, U.S
Resting place	Calvary Cemetery, Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Lois Murphy ​ (m. 1954)​
Children	6
Education	Seattle University (BBA) Georgetown University (JD)
Occupation	Lawyer politician
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Navy
Years of service	1944–1946[1]
Battles/wars	World War II

John Dennis Spellman (December 29, 1926 – January 16, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 18th governor of Washington U.S. state from 1981 to 1985 and as the first King County Executive from 1969 to 1981.

Spellman was elected governor in 1980 amid large gains for Republicans across the country. During his tenure, the Washington State economy suffered due to the early 1980s recession. Spellman was defeated in his reelection campaign in 1984. To date, he is the last Republican to have held the office of Governor of Washington U.S. state.^[2]