Who is Lee Wade?

Lee Ada Wade is a longtime Spokane resident, community advocate and one of the driving forces behind early childhood education efforts in East Central Spokane. The naming of Lee Wade Landing recognizes decades of service that helped shape the neighborhood long before affordable housing became part of its revitalization.

Born in 1920, Wade spent most of her adult life in Spokane. She worked as a grocery checker at Safeway where she became a familiar face to many local families. Outside of work she and a small group of women began meeting around their kitchen tables to discuss how they could make a difference in their neighborhood.

Rather than deciding for themselves what the community needed, they talked with neighbors going door to door. One issue surfaced repeatedly: children were entering school without the same opportunities as students from other parts of Spokane. Many started first grade behind in reading, writing, and basic math because they had little or no access to preschool.

“We needed to be that special school,” Wade later said. “We needed to do something about it as parents.”

Those conversations led to the formation of the League of Women for Community Action (LWCA). The group worked to establish early childhood development programs for families in East Central Spokane and secured funding from programs across the nation to operate preschool services for children in the neighborhood.

The work continued to grow alongside other community organizations, including the Martin Luther King Jr. Center and Southeast Daycare Center. Looking back, Wade said she was grateful to see those organizations continue serving families years after they were established.

During a recorded conversation with community leader Betsy Williams, Wade reflected on the importance of continuing the work. Williams shared how community efforts had expanded over the years to include affordable housing for seniors and families, telling Wade that the foundation she and other women had built was still growing.

“The seeds you planted are continuously growing,” Williams said.

Wade’s response, “Continue that.”

She believed community work should never depend on one person or one generation. She encouraged those carrying the work forward not to stop.

“That’s the seed we were trying to plant,” she said. “It shouldn’t stop when we’re not able to work anymore. It’s a seed you plant that’s continued from generation to generation.”

Wade often returned to the same idea: every person has something to offer their community.

“So much good is in people,” she said. “We need the opportunity to use it.”

Lee Wade Landing helps to carry that legacy forward. The 25-home Habitat for Humanity-Spokane development recognizes a woman whose work helped strengthen East Central Spokane through education, neighborhood leadership and service. The name honors not only her contributions, but the belief that lasting change happens when neighbors invest in one another and each generation continues the work of the last.