FORMER STATE SENATOR MARGARITA PRENTICE (D-11) DIES AGE 88

Margarita López Prentice, former state legislator from the 11th district, passed away quietly in her sleep of natural causes at her home in Bryn Mawr-Skyway, on April 2, 2019, sitting in her favorite chair with her dog on her lap. She was 88 years old.

Senator Prentice was the first Latina elected to the Washington State Legislature. She was first elected to the Renton School Board in 1986 and was then was appointed to fill a vacancy the State House of Representatives in 1988 serving two terms before being elected to the State Senate in 1992. She served five terms in the State Senate, rising to President Pro Tempore before retiring in 2013. Throughout her long tenure in the Legislature, Senator Prentice consistently fought for women’s health, migrant workers’ rights, LGBTQ rights, and veterans’ benefits. She became a powerful matriarch of the Legislature, mentoring many Democratic newcomers and forging bipartisan partnerships to help pass legislation. In addition to serving as President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Prentice was vice chair of the Labor and Commerce Committee, chair of the Financial Institutions & Housing Committee, and chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

Prentice was born in San Bernardino, California, on February 22, 1931. She was the youngest of five children. She attended Phoenix College, St. Joseph’s Hospital School of Nursing in Phoenix, and the University of Washington. During her 30-year nursing career, she was very active with the Washington State Nurses Association, as a labor organizer, officer, and later vice-president. She lived in Skyway, where she raised her four children with her husband, William Prentice Jr.

Senator Prentice is survived by her three children, five grandchildren, and her brother Carlos López. Her husband William Prentice Jr. and her son Carl preceded her in death. A private funeral service has been held. A celebration of life will be held on Friday May 10th at 3pm in Meeting Room B at the clubhouse restaurant at Foster Golf Links in Tukwila, WA.

For more information, please contact [email protected]. In lieu of flowers, those wishing to honor Senator Prentice may send donations to the Humane Society or the Pediatric Interim Care Center in Kent, WA.