Alvin Todd Moser, Timeline

The Moser brothers were commonly known by their middle names. Our first names were given to honor family members and to establish our place within the larger family. Todd was named after our maternal grandfather, Alvin Christian Felton (1892-1962), and was known as Todd until, in his adult years, he asked to be called Al Moser, or Alvin Moser. Most of the family still calls him Todd.

October 9, 1952
Yakima, Washington
Alvin Todd Moser born in Yakima, WA

Todd being held by his sibling, November 1952

1954
603 South 10th Avene, Yakima, WA
Todd (in overalls) and Tom (in bow tie)

The family lived on South 10th Avenue in Yakima until about 1956. The car with whitewall tires in the background was the family Dodge coupe.

1961
Shopping with Mom
A. Todd and Helen Moser

Photo of Todd and Mom in a camera store in Yakima. 

1962
First Baptist Church
A. Todd is in the center of this family photograph.

We believe this photo was taken at First Baptist Church in Yakima for the church directory. Todd and Mom were faithful attenders. 

1967
Snohomish, Washington
Family with Grandma Moser

Hertha Hulda Moser with Helen and Carl on her left and Tom and Todd in the foreground. Todd would have been 15. 

April 30, 1970
Wapato High School
The Wapato Independent

Unlike his older brother, Todd excelled at school. The article is entitled "Wapato's Top Juniors Named," featuring Todd and a classmate. Another article is about Todd becoming a DeMolay officer. 

Summer 1970
Warm Beach, WA
The Felton Home, Warm Beach

Grannie Felton, Todd, and Mom, circa Summer of 1970

March 11, 1971
Wapato High School
The Wapato Independent

Todd was named a National Merit Scholarship finalist during his senior year at Wapato High School. WHS Principal Jack Dorr is making the presentation. At this date Todd had already been accepted to the University of Washington. 

Summer 1971
Yakima, WA
McDonald's Hires WHS Graduate

Following graduation (class of ’71), Todd went to work at the new McDonald’s in Yakima (S. 1st Street) as the morning opener, which consisted of 75 tasks that required his attention before serving Big Macs to the general public. He also learned to work the grill, dress buns, and make milkshakes and fries. 

Fall 1971
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Todd Enters MIT

Todd was granted a scholarship to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, commencing in the Fall of 1971. 

August 1972
Cross Country to East Coast
The Road Trip East

Todd was returning for his second year at MIT and Tom was headed to The George Washington University in Washington D. C., so they loaded up Tom's VW Van and headed east from the family home in Wapato.

June 26, 1976
First Baptist Church, Yakima, WA
Wedding

Virginia Felton, Janice Moser, (née Thompson), Alvin Todd Moser and Carl Moser, at First Baptist Church in Yakima, where the young couple first met. 

August 1977
Master's of Science at UW
Master's Degree

Following MIT Todd was accepted to graduate school at the University of Washington 

September 1977
Employment & New Beginning
Logos Bookstore

Todd and Jan started working at the Logos Bookstore in Seattle's University District. Jan worked days and Todd worked nights while looking for an engineering job during the day. 

1978 - August 1984
Quinton Instrument Company
Working in Seattle

Following graduate school at the University of Washington Todd worked for Quinton Instrument Company in Seattle, as System Designer and Software Engineer. 

1981
Warm Beach Family Gathering
Three Generations

Todd is holding Mary Helen, Tom is holding Nicole Carrie, and Grandfather Carl is watching while reading a newspaper. The photographer was Aunt Virginia.

Summer 1982
Family Gathering
One Year Later

Todd is holding Mary Helen, Debbie is holding Nicole Carrie, at a family gathering, at an undisclosed location. It appears Nicole is checking out the clothing label on her cousin's sweater. 

1984 - 1988
University of Illinois
PhD Program at UIC
October 1984
Growing Family
The Family in Chicago

Mary Helen Moser was born September 5, 1981, and Alvin Todd Moser (Todd the Younger) was born April 11, 1984. 

Summer 1988
Leaving Chicago
Moving Back To Seattle

Todd, Jan, and family moved from Chicago in the Summer of 1988 after Todd received his PhD from the University of Illinois. 

December 1988
Diploma Issued by UIC
Doctor of Philosophy

Todd, Jan, and family moved from Chicago in the Summer of 1988 after Todd received his PhD from the University of Illinois. 

September 1988
Seattle University
A Career In Education at SU

Now known as Dr. Al Moser, he begins what would become a 35-year career teaching in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at SU.

June 1989
Seattle, WA
Grandfther and Grandchildren

Back row: Carl Moser, Mary Helen Moser. Front row: Nicole Carrie Moser, Alvin Todd Moser, and Lauren Virginia Moser.

June 2004
Seattle University
BA Degree Awarded

Professor Al Moser attended undergraduate classes at SU, majoring in performing arts and was awarded a BA. At graduation he entered with the faculty, wearing the cap and gown of an MIT graduate. At the appropriate time in the ceremony, he changed into the cap and gown of an undergraduate and walked across the platform with the other SU undergraduates to receive his diploma. 

Summer 2005
Whistler, B.C., Canada
Walking The Trails

Todd and Jan enjoying a walk along a trail in Whistler, BC. 

Halloween 2023
Bothell, WA
Trunk or Treat

Todd (in costume) and Jan, with a car trunk full of treats, are part of an alternative to traditional Halloween at their church in Bothell. 

Video produced by Seattle University in 2020

John A. Boynton, Skagit County Sheriff

Skagit County Sheriff John Boynton (1925 – 1999) 20 years, Democrat, FBI National Academy, WSP dispatcher, son of Dr. George Boynton, married to Lou Jane Boynton

Skagit County Sheriff John Boynton (1925-1999) was not what you saw on the exterior. He was tall, wore a crew cut, and had a stern expression. Around people who didn’t know him, he talked about how law enforcement was like the military. When I first heard him speak about military discipline, I was appalled. It was his way of “breaking in” a young deputy prosecutor. In reality, he had a big heart and was a moderate Democrat in the FDR tradition. John was born and raised in Skagit County, the son of a beloved local physician. John was very bright, understood the political climate of the county, and knew how to manage men and women law enforcement officers.

I think John saw me as a project to be encouraged and guided. He fostered a relationship between the prosecuting attorney and sheriff’s offices, wanting our attention to the felony cases referred by his office. When my office needed assistance finding witnesses or serving a trial summons, his office was responsive. John was easily re-elected County Sheriff, but in the 1980s, he ran for State Representative and lost. The voters wanted him to remain as Sheriff. John also was a friend of the Stevens County Sheriff, who was my father-in-law while I was in the Prosecutor’s office.

Douglas D. Peters (1935 – 2020)

Doug Peters (center) was a mentor and supervisor while I interned at Yakima Valley Legal Services. He was a Selah attorney with Felthouse and Peters, a small firm in a small town with a large impact and reputation for excellence. Later, the firm was Peters, Schmaltz, Folwer, and Inslee, having hired future Washington State Governor Jay Inslee. Washington Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Brachtenbach was also a former firm member. Doug was kind, intelligent, patient, and filled with legal wisdom. He volunteered to supervise Len Blumenthal and me during our school year, and this photo was taken at a celebration dinner in Yakima, probably at the Black Angus Restaurant. My life was blessed by having Doug as a friend and mentor.

Cables

The Cable family has been part of my life for as long as memory serves. Hank (standing next to me) and Del (standing next to my brother) lived in Wapato, Washington, and had two daughters, Judy and Jerry. Hank went to WSU with my father and became an industrial arts teacher at Wapato High School, where I attended and took a shop class.

I sent this letter to the Cables in January 1969, thanking them for a Christmas package and advising that my unit had deployed back to our base at Camp Casey from the DMZ. Del kept the letter until her daughter, Jerry, sent it to me in 2024.

Dennis Swanson, Spiritual Advisor, Servant-Leader, Evangelist & Friend (1937-2024)

I first met Dennis when he was a Skagit County Board of Adjustment member, and I was its legal advisor. My interaction with Dennis was limited during those months of evening land use hearings. My next meeting with Dennis was our first visit to Bethany Covenant Church in Mount Vernon. Sometime later, Dennis and I started a one-on-one Bible Study at my office in the Courthouse. He was a God-sent friend who patiently opened a path to faith.

Mark E. Wilson, Law Professor & Friend (1938-2020)

Mark E. Wilson changed my life and view of what it means to be a lawyer. He was co-founder of the Clinical Law Program at Gonzaga University Law School in 1974, my second year. I signed up to join the program, was accepted, and spent much of my third year in Granger, Washington, working at a law clinic for indigent clients. Mark retired as Professor Emeritus in 2015 and was awarded the Gonzage Law Medal for his bold vision and leadership.

Mike Redman, Encourager, Warrior & Loyal Friend (1941-2001)

Mike Redman was my predecessor as San Juan County Prosecuting Attorney, having resigned to become Executive Director of the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys with offices in Olympia. This photo, taken during Mike’s unsuccessful campaign for Attorney General, shows Mike in the center, Pat McMullen on the left, and me on the right.

Mike graduated from Franklin High School in Seattle, Yale University in 1963, and the University of Washington Law School. He then volunteered for the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam. He was featured in the nationally televised special “Halftime,” which traces the lives of five members of his Yale class. It was said correctly about Mike, “He was definitely the guy you wanted in your foxhole when the action started.”

Pat McMullen; Mentor & Friend

Just weeks after taking the Bar Exam, I met Patrick R. McMullen (1945 – 1999) when he was the Skagit County Prosecuting Attorney at the home of Mount Vernon attorney Kenny R. St. Clair. Pat hired me as a Deputy PA starting in October 1976. Pat later served in the Washington State House of Representatives and the Washington State Senate. Most observers believe he would have been appointed U.S. Attorney for Western Washington had he lived a few more years. Pat was an excellent trial lawyer with a humble approach to jurors that confounded opposing lawyers.

Pat McMullen, Bobbie McMullen, and Bill Nielsen, on a beach, circa 1989. Pat and Bill were law school classmates at UW and then worked together when Bill became Pat’s first Chief Civil Deputy PA in the mid-1970s. Bill later went into private practice in Mount Vernon until he was appointed to the Western Washington Growth Management Hearing Board.

Pat and Bobbie were married while Pat was the Skagit County Prosecuting Attorney. Bobbie was a legal assistant for many years and was a steady source of support for Pat as he went into private practice and was elected to the House of Representatives and the Washington State Senate. This photo was taken in the rotunda of the Washington State Capitol when Pat was in either the House or the Senate.

The Six Moser Brothers

The six Moser brothers are the sons of Henry Alexander Moser and Sarah Lydia Pyle. In the top row are Walt and Fred, and in the bottom row are Bert, Harry, John, and George. They were all born between 1882 and 1895. In addition, they had several sisters and other brothers. My grandfather was Harry Thomas Moser, born in 1886.

The Five Moser Brothers

Harry Thomas Moser and Hertha Hulda Steinke Moser had five children, all sons. The bottom photo was taken post-WWII, probably in Snohomish, Washington. They lined up in birth order, with the youngest on the left: Edwin, Larry, Donald, Carl, and Theodor. Ed is wearing a military-issue jacket with awards and badges. Most of of brothers served in WWII. Ed and Carl met in Europe during the war. Larry was a gunner on a B-52 bomber.

The top photo was taken on August 22, 1982, at a Moser Family Reunion. From left they are Ed, Carl, Larry, Ted, and Don.

The author is the son of Carl Moser