Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Valerie Logan Hood

ISB is deeply saddened to share the passing of Valerie Logan Hood, beloved wife of ISB Co-founder and Professor Dr. Lee Hood. Valerie’s lifelong dedication to K-12 education was instrumental in shaping ISB’s education programs, and her influence continues to be felt by students and educators across Washington state and beyond. Her legacy is enduring, and she will be dearly missed.

Learn more about Valerie’s remarkable life in the obituary below.

Valerie Logan Hood

Valerie Logan Hood (87), a 33-year resident of Seattle, passed away peacefully in her sleep on February 26, 2025, after a 20-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease. She was the daughter of the late William Regulus Logan and Ione Montana Logan of Cut Bank, MT. She is survived by her husband of 63 years, Leroy Hood, her son, Eran (Sonia Nagorski), her daughter, Marqui (Sam Fricke), and grandchildren Maia, Sydney, Stella, Frances, and Mira, her brother, Sidney Logan, and numerous cherished nieces, nephews and relatives in the Hood, Logan, and Vial families.

Valerie grew up in Cut Bank, MT, with trips to Kalispell to visit family. Valerie’s grandfather was the mayor of Kalispell, and her great-uncle was the first superintendent of Glacier National Park. Valerie was an excellent student and especially enjoyed speech and debate. She met her high school sweetheart and future husband, Lee, at a high school debate tournament. She attended Whitman College (WA), where she met many cherished, lifelong friends and earned a Bachelor of Arts. Valerie received her Master’s in Education from George Washington University (DC). 

Valerie stepped away from her teaching career to raise the couple’s two young children, a role she embraced with love and a sense of adventure and possibility. She eagerly supported her children’s myriad activities — sports, clubs, and adventures with friends. She opened the family home to Eran’s and Marqui’s friends and created a welcome after-school hangout for their nearby high school. Valerie cherished the ten years of summer-long vacations the Hood family spent with good friends Bill and Phutz Wood in Aspen, CO. Each summer, Valerie would take Eran and Marqui on a week-long camping and fishing trip to different parts of Colorado. These trips and Valerie’s enthusiasm for new experiences helped instill a love of exploration and adventure in Eran and Marqui.

Valerie was passionate about adventure and was a woman with strong interests in a variety of areas. She enjoyed hiking and backpacking in the Grand Canyon. She climbed Mount Whitney (the highest peak in the contiguous US) and Mount Rainier (the highest peak in Washington state). She was a technical rock climber and enjoyed scrambling up the sheer cliffs of the Sierras, Yosemite Valley, and Tahquitz Rock. She loved music, including classical, folk, and country, and she frequently attended the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, OR. Valerie enjoyed traveling with her family (including a very special Christmas in New Zealand) and her husband (trips to Europe, Japan, China, and the Galapagos Islands). She loved museums and enjoyed collecting art that could serve as memory markers of her travels. 

Valerie’s passion for women’s rights and K-12 education was a cornerstone of her diverse professional career. She began as an English teacher at Arcadia, CA, in 1970. She was beloved by her students and, after her retirement, she continued to receive letters from students she had inspired. Her advocacy for broadening women’s participation in the workforce led Valerie to teach assertiveness classes for women and work with the non-profit Women at Work in Pasadena. After a brief and successful stint as the CEO of a sliding glass door company, Valerie joined Caltech’s Industrial Relations Center, where she rose to become Associate Director. Throughout her career, Valerie also worked with her husband on initiatives to improve K-12 science education in the LA Unified School District. 

When Valerie moved to Seattle in 1992, she decided to focus on K-12 science education. She took a leadership role in creating an education program for the Molecular Biotechnology department at the University of Washington. In 1994, Valerie attended a National Science Foundation meeting on new K-12 science education initiatives and returned with the conviction that her group should apply for one of these newly minted programs. Working closely with the Superintendent of Seattle Public Schools, Valerie and her education group secured one of the first local systemic education grants in the country to develop hands-on science education for K-5 students in Seattle. She obtained similar grants for middle and high school students and, in total, she helped raise more than $25 million for science education. These efforts led to the creation of the Logan Center for Education at the Institute for Systems Biology, which has continued her vision of expanding inquiry-based science education across Washington. Valerie won several awards for her work in education, including a Golden Apple from the City of Seattle. Among those who celebrate Valerie’s life will be the Washington students who had their understanding of science elevated by the K-12 education programs she initiated.

Valerie’s warm and caring personality made for many friends. She was also committed to her community, serving on the board for Whitman College for many years, and on the boards of many local non-profits in the Seattle area. At her core, Valerie was humble, kind, and respectful, and made enduring connections with people in all spheres of her life. She was a wonderful and committed mother and grandmother, and her legacy of selflessness and service will continue to inspire family, friends, and her community.

In lieu of flowers, online donations in honor of Valerie may be made to ISB. Or, donate by check to “Institute for Systems Biology” with “STEM Education: In memory of Valerie Logan” in memo. 

Send to:

Institute For Systems Biology 
Attn: Development 
401 Terry Ave North
Seattle, WA 98109