Skagit Pioneer of Year Family member Duane Berentson a key public official

In his many roles as an educator, lawmaker, state official and in private business, the late Duane Berentson was hailed as a team player.

And family man.

The well-documented devotion to service and consensus building that defined him has been a blueprint for others in the Benson/Berentson lineage. The family will be honored at the 119th annual Pioneer Picnic in La Conner Aug. 3 as the Skagit County Pioneer Association Family of the Year.

For three decades a key figure in Olympia, Duane Berentson is perhaps best known locally for having established a strong link between Anacortes and Burlington...