Born on a farm in De Soto, Kansas, Ruth McCord came to love the farm life, recalled her son Scott. And years later, long after the time her family was forced to sell that property to make way for a munitions factory during the second World War, she was able to recapture a bit of her childhood.

“In a way, she was purchasing that farm,” Scott McCord said, speaking at a dedication last week on the site of the future park named for his late mother.

“Mom loved Sequim, she loved the cows, the red barns, the mountain view. She held tight to this property. I wish I had a dollar for every time someone came up and asked … if she was interesting in selling it.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Sterling McCord speaks at the dedication of property that is named for his mother, Ruth C. McCord, on Oct. 25. McCord recalled the time his mother took him to see the property on West Hendrickson Road prior to owning it; the previous owner’s family had a motorcycle, and McCord said he was excited because he thought they were going to buy it. Instead. the owner offered to sell the land to his mother. “I never did get that motorcycle,” McCord joked at the park dedication.

“She was not tempted by the money. She always hoped this would not be divided up.”

Instead, the 16.61-acre piece of land at 764 W. Hendrickson Road will become Sequim’s first west side park.

Sequim city councilors unanimously approved the $2.45 million purchase of the property on May 13 from the family of Ruth C. McCord in honor of her wish that it be used as a park for children and seniors.

Photo courtesy of Scott McCord Ruth McCord stands on the property her estate gave to the City of Sequim.

“She said, ‘I want to bless the lives the children, but I also love the elderly, and I want to bless the lives of the elderly’,” Scott McCord recalled.

“Sequim’ was mom’s happy place,” daughter Julie McCord Perkins said at the dedication. “This park accomplishes all of her wishes.”

Scott, Julie and Sterling McCord were each on hand to speak and offer their thoughts on the dedication of the land to the city.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Scott McCord speaks about his mother Ruth at a park dedication ceremony on Oct. 25. The family made the property available to the city for its first west side park. “She was not tempted by the money; she always hoped this would not be divided up,” Scot McCord said.

To purchase the park, city staff report they used monies from the Rainy Day Fund, Real Estate Excise Taxes, Park Impact Fees, General Fund Reserve, and state grant funding.

City Parks and Events Manager Hannah Merrill said there is much to do before the park can open, including community engagement, site planning, grant writing, fundraising, construction, and eventually an official park opening.

Until them, Merrill said, a local rancher who has leased the land for the past 30 years will oversee the property.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Julie McCord Perkins speaks at a park dedication ceremony in Sequim on Oct. 25. Property that her mother purchased decades ago will become Sequim’s first west side park. “This park accomplishes all of her wishes,” McCord Perkins said.

Sterling McCord, a 1989 Sequim High graduate who spent his high school years on the property, said Ruth came to love Sequim after the town’s resident embraced her, a single mother raising two boys.

“I feel like that sense of community still exists here,” he said.

Turning this piece of property into a public park, Scott McCord said, gave the family an opportunity to put all of the things she taught her children into practice.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Rachel Anderson, Sequim’s deputy mayor, recognizes the contribution of Ruth McCord and her family at a park dedicated in her honor at a park dedication ceremony on Oct. 25. “ understood that the greatest legacies are the ones that give back,” Anderson said.

“This will always be a symbol of her love of Sequim,” he said.

“She had a vision of something greater than herself,” deputy mayor Rachel Anderson said. “She understood that the greatest legacies are the ones that give back.”

The City of Sequim got a heads-up from Sen. Kevin Van De Wege that some state grant funds could be used for this project, city manager Matt Huish noted.

“I’m grateful to be in a position to be in Olympia to allow something like this to happen,” said state Rep. Steve Tharinger, a longtime colleague of Van De Wege’s, at the park dedication.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / State Rep. Steve Tharinger (D-Port Townsend) speaks at a park dedication in Sequim on Oct. 25. “In a town like Sequim, any piece of property that’s not developed will become more and more important,” he said.

“In a town like Sequim, any piece of property that’s not developed will become more and more important.”

A recent city survey of 506 residents showed that 89% support the purchase of property for the creation of additional parks and/or open spaces. Sequim has eight city-owned parks encompassing a combined 117 acres, not including the new park space.

Contact Merrill at hmerrill@sequimwa.gov with questions about the park.