Kathleen Rich

Kathleen “Kay” Rich was born on September 17, 1938 to Janet (Englund) Flynn and Francis Xavier “Pat” Flynn in Seattle, Washington and peacefully and gracefully embraced her last great adventure on April 6, 2023. True to form, Kay bravely battled Alzheimer’s Disease, yet continued to bring joy and laughter to all those around her.

She grew up in Seattle and graduated from Queen Anne High School in 1956. She attended Whitworth College, eventually receiving her Bachelor of Arts in English from Washington State University in 1972 while working and raising a family. She received her Master of Education (M.Ed) in Student Personnel Administration from Western Washington University in 1976.

Kay made an indelible impact during her 30-year career at Western Washington University, working her way up through the university - from the Admissions Office, to helping establish the Academic Advising Center, to handling special projects for the Vice President of Student Affairs, then finally being recruited to University Residences as Associate Director and then Director, where she spent the majority of her time at Western. One of the highlights during her time with University Residences was the total restoration of historic Edens Hall, which had been condemned for many years and is now a thriving living community in the heart of campus. After she retired in December 2003, she was pulled back into two more years of service at WWU as acting Director of Alumni Relations, finally getting around to her retirement in 2005.

Kay was a highly respected leader in the college and university housing community and actively involved for many years in the Association of College Housing and University Officers-International (ACUHO-I). Kay served on the ACUHO-I Executive Board and was – on several occasions - recognized for her exceptional leadership and service. Kay also served as the president of Northwest ACUHO-I representing the Pacific Northwest and western Canada, and was the first recipient of the NWACUHO Lifetime Achievement Award, named in her honor since 2010.

As her career was winding down, Kay found love with Bill Salisbury, who had retired that same year and returned to Bellingham. From their Bellingham base camp, Kay and Bill had some amazing adventures together, including marriage in 2013, frequent travel to California, Hawaii, and Europe (and many other places in between), as well as many experiences bringing each of their respective families, friends, and former colleagues together.

She was a wonderful and supportive mother to her daughters, and she mentored and encouraged numerous other women and young people. Kay had an adventurous spirit - she was a competitive ice skater, avid skier, and runner/walker - participating in too many 5K, 10K, half and full marathons to count. These activities brought her life-long friends. Serving others and supporting the causes and communities she loved was important to her, including the Girl Scouts, Relay for Life, Team in Training, Visiting Nurse Home Healthcare, Sunrise Rotary Club, WECU Board of Directors, St. James Presbyterian Church, First Congregational Church, WWU sports, and many others.

She was predeceased by her parents, her stepfather Bill Barr, her brother Michael Flynn and his wife and Kay’s good friend Pat Flynn, and her brothers-in-law Bob, Richard, and John Valeri. She is survived by her husband Bill Salisbury, daughters Michele Anderson (Tim) and Mary Schilling (Mike), “bonus daughters” Melissa Peepgrass (Tom), Wendy Alton (Russ), and Jennifer Salisbury (Ben Lee), first husband Doug Rich, brother-in-law Mark Valeri (Lynn), sisters-in-law Patty & Cindy Valeri, many Flynn and Valeri nieces and nephews, and her beloved grandchildren: Cole Schilling, Katelynn Miller, Brady Anderson, Carly Peepgrass, Ella Peepgrass, Reid Alton, and Ruby Lee.

In lieu of flowers, gifts in memory of Kay can be made to the Kay Rich Scholarship at Western Washington University at wwu.edu/give or by sending a check made payable to the WWU Foundation/Rich Scholarship to 516 High Street, MS-9034, Bellingham, WA 98225. This annual scholarship goes to an outstanding student that is a WWU Resident/Community Advisor. A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, June 17 at 2:00 p.m. at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal 355 Harris Ave, Bellingham, WA 98225 2nd Floor Dome Lounge. This will be a celebration of her life, so we hope you will wear bright, happy colors. (And "lip color," of course.)