Born in Long Meadows, Massachusetts in 1926, longtime Bellingham attorney and Washington State senator Roy Franklin Atwood, Jr. moved to Ellensburgh, Washington with his mother during the 1930s. He served in the US army during World War II, and later attended Washington State University and the University of Washington Law School. After graduating from law school in 1951, Atwood moved to Bellingham, Washington, where he established his own law firm. In 1955, he married Marie Matson, with whom he had three children.

An active member of the Bellingham community, Atwood served for six years on the City Council. In 1962, spurred by his opposition to taxes affecting public works projects, Atwood ran as Republican candidate for the Washington State Senate. He defeated incumbent candidate Homer Nunamaker to join the Republican minority in the Washington Legislature.

Atwood worked on numerous Senate and advisory bodies, including the Legislative Budget Committee (of which he was vice-president) Judiciary Committee, and the Council Commission on Higher Education. Actively concerned with higher education issues, he supported improved funding and management of State Colleges and also the expansion of graduate programs at Western Washington University in Bellingham. A leading figure among Republicans in the Legislature, he was appointed the Senate’s Minority Whip in 1965 and Minority Floor leader in 1967. In 1970, Atwood became Republican Caucus Chair.

In 1974, following three four-year terms in the Washington State Senate, Atwood retired from full-time politics and returned to his law practice in Bellingham. He remained involved in political and legislative matters, working for the Attorney General’s office in Olympia, and serving as a long-term member of the Washington State Bar Association’s Legislative Committee. Frank Atwood continues to reside in Bellingham, Washington.

References:

• R. Frank Atwood Collection, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies.

• Boswell, Sharon (ed.). R. Frank Atwood : an oral history. Interviewed and
  edited by Sharon Boswell. Olympia, WA : Washington State Oral History Program, Office of the Secretary of State, 2003.