History

Our History

Norman Archibald was a long time resident of Seattle. He died on September 21, 1975, at the age of 81 and left no immediate family.  The Foundation was established in March of 1976 as directed by his will.

Mr. Archibald was a pilot and authored a book entitled Heaven High-Hell Deep, published in 1935 by William Heinemann Ltd., covering his experiences as a World War I Army Air Force pilot which included being shot down in combat and his capture and imprisonment by the Germans. His book was of such historic interest that it was reprinted in Wings of War published by Time-Life Books.

Upon his death Mr. Archibald’s estate was valued at approximately $4 million.  Apart from some modest bequests, the remainder was left in trust with Pacific National Bank of Washington (now Wells Fargo N.A.) for charitable purposes.  The Foundation adopted a corporate form of organization in 2013. The bylaws now provide that the affairs of the corporation including payment of grants to appropriate charitable organizations shall be managed by its Board of Directors.

The Foundation has now completed its 42nd year of grantmaking to charitable organizations within Northwest Washington. Over these years, the Foundation has granted nearly $15 million to qualified organizations and its fund balance continues to exceed $8.0 million.