By John Steckler
Photo by Assunta Ng
Faith Ireland’s memoir, “Getting to Justice: From Unwed Mother to State Supreme Court,“ was published on Amazon recently.
Ireland has had strong ties with the Asian community from an early age. The late Wing Luke, Seattle City Councilmember and one of her mentors, had encouraged Ireland to go to law school. Former King County Councilmember Ruby Chow, of the Chinese community service organization, awarded her “Chinese man of the year award” in 1972 for her work as a founder of the Wing Luke Museum. Her book has chronicled all the events that shaped the Faith Ireland we know today.
Former Washington Supreme Court Justice Faith Ireland and the late King County Council member Ruby Chow
Born in Seattle, nine months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, she was the daughter of parents who had moved from Nebraska to Seattle in 1940. The family grew up on Queen Anne Hill until Faith was 5, after which they moved to Whidbey Island.
Her parents bought 83 acres with a historic farmhouse and over 1,000 feet of waterfront. The plan was for a chicken farm. Unfortunately, her parents did not know much about chickens, purchased the wrong kind which died, lost the property, and went bankrupt.
Although her parents felt their time on Whidbey was a disaster, Faith recalled that year with nothing but happiness.
The family moved back to Seattle, eventually settling in Shoreview where Faith achieved fame as Miss Shorewood.
Her parents built a home and lived there for 25 years. Faith attended Highline High School. Her father, Carl, worked as a plumber and pipe fitter, and later at Boeing and the City of Seattle. Her mother Janice was one of the first women realtors and sold homes for over 30 years.
In 8th grade, Faith was told she should take shorthand because she was not college material. Proving the naysayers wrong, she graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in political science.
In her last year of college, Faith got pregnant “out of wedlock,” as they called it back then. She was faced with some very difficult decisions. Because of the norms of the time, she felt an enormous guilt. She felt she had let her parents down and was terrified to tell them. She even considered suicide.
Fortunately, her minister convinced her that action would only hurt the parents she loved so much. She went home and told her parents. They assured her that she was not the first person in the world and even in their family to be in this situation. They helped her and kept her secret.
Faith worked for three terms at the Washington Senate. She decided to move to Colorado to avoid being seen while pregnant. She would also complete her political science degree with a paper comparing the Washington and Colorado State legislatures. She’d made the difficult decision to have the child, but to give her up for adoption.
With the pregnancy, and saying goodbye to her baby, behind her, Faith returned to Seattle. Ever the groundbreaking pioneer, she decided to enroll in law school.
Faith graduated from Willamette Law School in Salem, Oregon. She passed the Washington bar exam, becoming one of the few female lawyers in Seattle then.
Faith decided to become a trial lawyer. In 1970, few of the major law firms were hiring women. She went to work for a small firm in the University District, handling matters that required court appearances.
She became the first woman on the board of the Washington State Trial Lawyers.
After three years, Faith took the plunge and started her own firm. Her office was in a newly restored building in Pioneer Square—as close as she could find to the courthouse.
Skilled in trial practice, Faith also found she needed to be proficient in taxation. She then earned a Bachelor of Science in taxation from Golden Gate University.
As soon as she became an attorney, Faith could afford to take up the only sport she’d ever wanted to try— skiing. She loved to go on ski trips with friends.
On one of those trips, she met a man named Chuck Norem in Park City, Utah. Faith invited Chuck to visit her for the summer in Seattle.
After summer ended, Chuck stayed. They were married on Valentine’s Day in 1981. They have been married now for 43 years and still ski every year.
After 13 years as a pioneering female lawyer, Faith applied to become one of only a few women in Washington on the Superior Court.
She was appointed by Governor John Spellman in 1983. She was elected two months later and served 15 years on the Superior Court.
Just two weeks after she had been appointed to the Superior Court, Faith suffered back injuries from a hit-and-run car accident. The accident left her with a considerable amount of pain that she suffered with for over 10 years. Someone suggested she take up weightlifting to help ease that pain. She tried it and it helped amazingly.
Eventually, she became an international powerlifter, even while on the Supreme Court.
She competed for 15 years, won five international championships, and set 15 world records for her age and weight class.
Faith finally retired from competition in 2014.
Another challenge after the accident was that Faith got pregnant, much to the joy of Chuck and herself. Unfortunately, they lost their child which was to be a son on, of all days of the year, Mother’s Day.
Ireland had to struggle with the realization that she gave away her first child and lost her second. That struggle was helped considerably when Faith was reunited with her daughter Emily after 32 years.
When Ireland won her campaign for the Washington State Supreme Court Justice, it was Emily who put the robe on Faith’s back at her induction in 1999.
After 21 years as a judge and 13 years as a lawyer, Faith decided to move on to that next chapter in her life, a chapter I’d like to call, active retirement. While on active retirement, Faith was introduced to a new challenge that many of us also experience—unexpected health challenges as we age. In 2018, Faith was diagnosed to need both hips replaced. During this time, she was also diagnosed with melanoma, requiring months of infusions. Faith, ever the strong and positive individual, beat these challenges and six years later is cancer free. She now calls herself the “titanium woman” since she has two titanium hips.
Faith went back to active retirement, joining Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services. She is also a successful certified Results Coach, helping lawyers and other professionals to succeed.
Although she is no longer a competitive powerlifter, Faith continues her regime of strength and health. In fact, she has a daily routine she calls “Snap Crackle and Pop,” a combination of Pilates and yoga. She also does Tai Chi twice a week, and uses the treadmill and weight lifts every other day.
Today at 82, Faith continues to enjoy downhill skiing and active community engagement. She defies her age with her commitment to numerous boards and associations.
John Steckler is a Mill Creek City Councilmember and a business consultant.