Bench will be dedicated to longtime Oak Harbor leader

Kiwanis Club of Oak Harbor and the Oak Harbor School District will dedicate a bench at Oak Harbor High School to the late Gary Wallin.

The dedication is 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 23, at Oak Harbor High School in front of the student union building.

Wallin, a Kiwanis member for over 25 years and school board member for 15 years, died in March 2017.

Kiwanis board member Janice Gaare said the club starting fundraising for the bench. The club coordinated with high school Principal Dwight Lundstrom to place the bench, which is in purple, the school’s colors, in front of the student union building.

“We thought a bench in front of the high school would be a beautiful way to remember him,” Gaare said.

“We wanted to honor (Wallin) both for his work with Kiwanis and for the work he did for the school district when he was on the board,” Gaare said.

Schools Superintendent Lance Gibbon will give a speech about Wallin as well as perform a song.

The short program will be followed with ice cream, Gaare said.

Wallin was known on the school board for advocating for under-served populations of students.

In addition to his time on the school board and in Kiwanis, Wallin served for more than 50 years as a funeral service provider as owner and operator of Wallin Funeral Home & Cremation in Oak Harbor. He also served as president of the Oak Harbor Main Street Association.