Donors and Difference-Makers

An inspiration in life and legacy

A humble Husky Hall of Famer gives back to support the student-athletes who follow in his cleat-prints

Milt Bohart lived his life through his values. Work hard and always do your best. Actions count more than words. Honesty above all. Give back, but don’t trumpet your philanthropy.

So, sharing the story of Milt’s generous spirit might seem out of character, until you consider the totality of his inspirational life and how its example might encourage others to support the University he held so dear.

“He would want people to understand that if it weren’t for the University of Washington recognizing his athletic ability with a scholarship, he could never have achieved what he did in his life,” Milt’s son, Corbin, says of his dad, who passed away last March at the age of 89.

One of Milt’s final acts was to leave a generous bequest to benefit Husky Football, fulfilling the promise his teammates recognized when they bestowed him nearly 70 years earlier with the Guy Flaherty Award for being the most inspirational player on the team. The military pilot, mechanical engineer and forestry industry innovator also made a legacy gift to UW Engineering.

A self-professed “dirt farmer from Wenatchee who married a debutante from Seattle,” Milt and his wife, Ann (who passed in 2015), met on campus. Their three children — Corbin, Don and Kelly — grew up with tailgate parties, football games and their parents’ unending gratitude for their UW education.

“The most important thing that he wanted to get across to us was that education was paramount and sports were secondary,” Corbin recalls. “He would always talk about the benefits of graduating from college and what that means to you later in life.”

Season ticket holders for six decades, the Boharts would often treat friends and business associates to Husky games in the Don James Center. Sometimes, the All-American would wear his Husky Hall of Fame jacket and ring — not to show off but to start conversations about what the UW helped him achieve.

Humility, generosity and inspiration: The legacy of Milt Bohart.

Milt Bohart collage