Page 11 - Pierce County Lawyer - September October 2025

In Memory of
Richard Lee Settle
June 16, 1942 – July 23, 2025
By Professor John Weaver, ret.
Dick Settle was revered as a teacher,
a scholar and a lawyer. He passed
away on July 23 this year at 83. He
was raised in Seattle and graduated from the
UW and the UW Law School. In 1972 when
UPS Law School opened on South Tacoma
Way, he was one of the first faculty members
(and the only one who knew much about
Tacoma).1 He helped us new-comers learn
about Tacoma, including how to pronounce
Puyallup and how to find the main campus
of UPS.
Dick was likely the best dressed of the early
faculty members. He was always natty in
his chinos, blue shirt, and blazer. There was
a special day when his students all came to
class dressed that way.
Dick taught Torts to many first-year
students and then moved into teaching
and scholarship on Land Use, Zoning and
Environmental Law. It was there that he
made his mark in scholarship and later in
practice when he moved to Foster Pepper.
He left his mark on the South Sound with the
many lawyers whom he helped train (see Jim
Lopez’s reminiscence on page 24).
In retirement Dick traveled with his wife
Trish (who predeceased him) to Tuscany and
Umbria. He was a golfer and fisherman who
loved to be outdoors.
Richard is survived by his daughters and
grandchildren, his sister and her children,
and his stepchildren. His legacy lives on in
his family, his students, his colleagues, and
in the legal and environmental policies that
bear the imprint of his life's work. He will be
remembered for his intelligence, generosity,
and his deep love for the people and places
that shaped his life.
In lieu of flowers,
donations may be made in
Richard's memory to the
Seattle University School of
Law's Environmental Law
Program or to a conservation
organization supporting the
lands and waters of the
Pacific Northwest.
1 He had been teaching at UPS in the business school. The
rest of us were from far and near. You knew there had to be a
footnote.
John Weaver, Professor Emeritus, Seattle University School of Law, began teaching
at UPS School of Law in 1972. He has been a lawyer for more than 50 years--
beginning his practice during the Nixon Administration. He is an honorary life-time
member of the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association. He is a resident of Tacoma
and serves as the Law School Liaison to the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association.
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