Civic leader Harriet Fix dies at 89

Harriet Fix, a longtime philanthropist and community leader, died Tuesday evening in her home at Rockwood Retirement Communities in Spokane.

The daughter of a prominent businessman who worked his way onto the national stage, Harriet Fix followed in his footsteps in her many roles in education, arts and community building.

Fix, 89, served as head of the Spokane Symphony; president of the Junior League; and a chairwoman of the Whitman College board of overseers.

She was a leading figure in the Johnston-Fix Foundation, an offshoot of the Johnston Foundation, which was started by her father, Eric A. Johnston.

Her mother, Ina Harriet Hughes Johnston, shared in the family desire to benefit the community.

Born on Aug. 20, 1926, Harriet Fix graduated from Lewis and Clark High School in 1944 and earned a degree in economics from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1948. She took a job with the U.S. Department of the Treasury while living with her parents in the nation’s capital.

In 1950, she married William C. Fix, who survives her at home.

“She was effective as an organizer,” her husband said Wednesday. “She was better as a friend. She had a lot of good friends. She sure backed me up.”

William Fix, also 89, is an early-day mountaineer and a longtime financial investment adviser in Spokane. He has served on the board of the state chapter of the Nature Conservancy.

The couple had four children: Katherine Rasmussen, who died in 1991; Carol Hughes, who died in 1968; Allan Fix, of Albany, California; and Harold Fix, of Spokane.

“She was a civic leader,” Harold Fix said.

In 1984, Gonzaga University and the city of Spokane dedicated the Johnston Family Mall that turned busy Boone Avenue into its present pedestrian space at the front of university.

About the same time, Harriet Fix served on an advisory board for five Spokane-area colleges and universities.

In 1987, she co-chaired a fundraising campaign for the symphony and was spokeswoman for what was known as the Johnston Foundation in those days. The foundation gave $200,000 to the campaign.

At the time, Harriet Fix was quoted as saying, “It is our belief that a community in which the arts flourish is a healthy community and an exciting one.”

Harriet Fix served on an advisory committee for a library bond measure, which won approval and led to creation of today’s Spokane library system.

The Johnston Foundation was established in 1948 by Eric Johnston to support independent education and culture. Years later, the foundation split into the Johnston-Fix Foundation, overseen by Harriet Fix, and Johnston Hanson Foundation, which was overseen by her sister Elizabeth Hanson, who died in 2013.

Eric Johnston built successful electrical and lighting companies and went on to serve as president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce starting in 1941. He took on federal posts dating back to the Franklin Roosevelt administration, including trips as a presidential envoy.

He also served as president of the Motion Picture Association of America. He died in 1963.

Ina Johnston died in 1991 following a long record of civic achievement and community service. She was the daughter of Spokane pioneer George Hughes.

A funeral service is set for Wednesday at 11 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, 127 E. 12th Ave. Heritage Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.