Walter Baz, a dear friend to many and a longtime Madison Park resident, passed away quietly Sept. 10, 2007, after a month-long illness.
Mr. Baz was born in Camas, Wash., on Jan. 23, 1920. He graduated from Camas High School in 1939, and in 1940, as a member of the "greatest generation," entered the U.S. Air Force and served until the end of hostilities in 1945.
Following the war, he joined the Civil Service and worked with the U.S. military forces in Japan until 1950. Living in Japan for five years, he became interested in and befriended a family of performers in the kabuki theater. He performed a cameo role with the company while on a road tour to Numazu, Japan.
Mr. Baz returned to the Northwest and the University of Washington, where he was affiliated with Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. He graduated with a degree in political science in 1953 and then took advanced interior design schooling at Parson School of Design in New York.
He began his career in interior design at The Bon Marché (now Macy's) Interior Design Studio. After eight years, he joined McBreen Interior Design, where he spent 18 years. He then opened his own firm to continue serving his far-flung clients up and down the West Coast, from Canada to Mexico and Hawaii. He remained active in design until very recently and was a longtime member of the American Society of Interior Design, which awarded him a lifetime membership.
To encourage education and the study of interior design, Mr. Baz founded and endowed the Walter Baz Interior Design Scholarship Fund at Bellevue Community College.
Mr. Baz was an avid skier into his 70s, enjoyed tennis and was an inveterate traveler. For several years, he arranged and led small tour groups to Europe and Asia.
A lively participant in Seattle's arts community, he loved theater, art and especially music, from opera to jazz. He particularly enjoyed the swing music of the '30s and '40s and organized two singing groups that met frequently, accompanied by a pianist, to sing together and solo.
Until Mr. Baz fell ill he retained a keen interest and curiosity in the world around him. Many considered him a gentleman and a renaissance man.
Mr. Baz was predeceased by his brother, Paul. He is survived by his sister Virginia Baz, sister-in-law Belva Baz and niece Penny Baz, all of Camas, Wash.
Contributions in Mr. Baz's name may be sent to the Walter Baz Interior Design Scholarship Fund, Bellevue Community College, Room A102, 3000 Landerholm Circle S.E., Bellevue, WA 98007, or to a charity of your choice.[[In-content Ad]]
