Queen Anne resident Chuck Dagg is the kind of guy sociologists mean when they speak of "social capital" - an abstract phrase signifying the people, often unpublicized, who help hold a community together.
At ground level, where Dagg's third-generation Queen Anne roots intersect with so much of Queen Anne past and present, friends and associates describe him in more human terms: decent, unselfish, concerned for others. A giver, not a taker.
When Dagg, 65, retired from his 37-year career from State Farm Insurance in May, a celebration in his honor at Anthony's Home Port Restaurant at Shilshole drew some 150 people.
It was both a reflective and humorous occasion, Dagg, quiet-spoken with a fine sense of humor, has better reason than many for reflection. A decade ago a heart attack brought him to the brink.
"I saw a white light," he recalled. "We were pretty close." A bypass operation followed: "When you're lying there plugged in you're thinking: My kids are married. But there's a lot of the world Linda and I haven't seen. And I don't have to get to work at 7:30 in the morning. I decided the most important things were family and friends."
Those close to Dagg, however, say he had always known what is important.
All American boyhood
Born in 1944, Dagg grew up in the same house on Ninth Avenue West where his mother was reared. Like her, he attended Coe Elementary School. Both of his parents were lifetime Queen Anne residents. In the mid-50s summers he cut lawns and worked for a local pharmacy delivering prescription drugs on his bike. In 1956, as a seventh grader, Dagg entered Queen Anne Junior-Senior High School and took a seat behind his future wife Linda Willis.
At Queen Anne High, Dagg was one of those All-American kids who seemed to do well effortlessly, compiling a resume that included sophomore class president; varsity letters in football and baseball; 1961 All Metro league center and Outstanding Senior Man at Queen Anne High.
He and Linda started dating in their senior year. After graduation Dagg headed to Washington State University on a football scholarship while Linda enrolled at the University of Washington. So began a four-year, cross-Cascades courtship. Once in Pullman Dagg realized he'd have to choose between academics and football. He chose the former, majoring in history and education. His winning ways followed him to Pullman, where he was fraternity president and Outstanding Cadet at ROTC summer camp. After graduation, the couple married in 1967. This was the Vietnam era. Dagg, commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, was posted to Tokyo in 1968, a move that opened the door to the couple's love of Japanese culture and aesthetics. Linda taught special education at a nearby American school and at Johnson Air Force Base. And the Daggs explored the Far East: Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Okinawa and the Philippines.
Returning home,
giving back
After military service, the Daggs returned to Seattle and bought Linda's parents' home on Bigelow in the early '70s - the depths of the Boeing downturn. Dagg went to work for State Farm on Crown Hill in 1972 while Linda taught special education for Seattle Public Schools. The couple reared two sons, Eric, 35 and Mark, 33.
In 1982 Dagg bought the building at 3206 16th W. Ave. and set up shop. "I was in a position to work with people," Dagg said of his career. "You deliver a death check. Or someone's house burns down. You're there to coach them through it."
Along the way Dagg devoted considerable time to the Queen Anne community. He served for several years on the Queen Anne Helpline Board of Directors, coached youth soccer and basketball, became heavily involved in Boy Scout Troop 72, and was instrumental in forming the partnership between the Troop and Queen Anne Helpline for its annual Christmas tree lot.
What drives him? "Treating people like you would want to be treated," Dagg said. "Being honest with your friends, family, people you do business with. My parents gave me a sense of family."
"He's a gentle man just like this father was," notes Pat Sobeck, Executive Director of the Helpline. "Chuck worked very hard on the board and was extremely helpful in setting up our computer system. He's been a staunch supporter of the Helpline."
Queen Anne resident Roger Chaffin got to know Dagg through their scouting activities and counts him a friend.
"He is a committed community member," Chaffin observes. "He is motivated by caring for others. He made sure each of our young men in Scouts could grow. He has this ability to make you feel important and is the perfect host. He's not trying to be. He just is."
Chaffin says his friend possesses another talent: "He's got to be one of the best amateur photographers around."
Looking to the future, Dagg says: "We want to be able to continue traveling and be part of our grandkids' lives." Another possibility comes to mind, too: "I have a soft spot for young guys coming home from the military." He wondered about advising them in business.
Queen Anne is much changed, but Dagg remains typically unruffled. "I like it. It's still a community. You don't have to go downtown to do things anymore."
In his understated fashion, Dagg sums things up this way: "Linda and I feel fortunate. We come from good families. And we got lucky on Queen Anne."[[In-content Ad]]
