Gregory Byrum Routt

With the passing of Greg Routt, the world lost a truly remarkable, yet humble, human being.

Born to Donald Harrison Routt and Dorothy Ann Bickel on June 17, 1950 in Kansas City,Missouri, Gregory Byrum Routt died at Swedish First Hill on June 26, 2025 after a brief illness.

He is survived by his loving wife, Kristie Ann Kujawski; his brother Gary Routt and his wife, Holland Kensington, of Sonoma, California; Gary’s daughter Jennifer Routt and her partner Jason of Redwood City, California, and son Zachariah Routt and his wife Tina of South Dakota; his brother Russel Routt and his wife Jane Bruce Routt of Corona, California. He is also survived by his sister-in-law, Holly Marie Kujawski Eklund and her husband, Robert Ekland, of Vancouver,WA; their daughter Hailey Eklund and her husband Hien Nguyen of Iowa City, Iowa; and their son, Royce Eklund and his wife, Siobhan Murphy, of Kilkenny, Ireland.

Greg grew up in University Heights, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, graduated from Cleveland Heights High School, and in 1972 received his Bachelor’s degree in History and Sociology from the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point. It was during Freshman year that Greg met his life-long partner, Kristie, and they were married on June 24, 1972.

Graduate school was next, and Greg accompanied Kristie to UC Berkeley for her degree, and then she accompanied him to Toronto, Ontario where he had hoped to study under Gabriel Kolko. When Professor Kolko went on sabbatical, Greg wrote his thesis under prominent Canadian historian, Kenneth McNaught of the University of Toronto, and received a Master’s degree in History from York University in 1975.

Living briefly in Reno, where Kristie worked for the Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada, Greg worked in several casinos and developed an interest in culinary arts. He enrolled in the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco and graduated in 1978. He worked as a chef, primarily in French kitchens, in the Bay Area and Seattle until 1989.

By 1990, Greg was ready for a career change, and secured a position as a substance abuse counselor, first with Milam Recovery Centers, and then with King County’s substance abuse programs at NERF and the King County Jail in Seattle. As Greg’s interest in counseling grew, he enrolled in the Master’s program in Psychology at Antioch, and graduated in September of1995. He worked for Family Services in Seattle in their Domestic Violence Treatment Program,counseling adult perpetrators of domestic violence.

In 1996, Greg, along with colleagues Lily Anderson and Meg Crager, left Family Services to develop the Step-Up Program for King County Juvenile Court, an entirely new model to address teenage domestic violence. Greg spent the final 20 years of his career refining the program and working with families who experienced teen to parent violence. Initially a one-of-a-kind program, Step-up has been picked up by other jurisdictions across the US, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Greg presented at professional conferences across the US, trained counselors interested in adopting the program in Ohio, Illinois, and Florida, and in 2013, served on a panel at Oxford University to present Step-Up to the UK. In early 2015, Greg and Lily Anderson published their book, Adolescent Violence in the Home, which remains a much-cited reference on the issue and on the design of the program.

Throughout his years in Seattle, Greg was active with The Mountaineers and The Washington Kayak Club. He climbed the major mountains in Washington and Oregon. He became an expert kayaker, built three kayaks, and took many trips to the San Juan Islands and to British Columbia, kayaking frequently along the West Coast of Vancouver Island, the Inside Passage, and HaidaGwaii.

Passionate about politics, Greg read widely and deeply on US History, Philosophy and Political Theory. In college he was an anti-war protestor, in San Francisco he was an early supporter of Gay Rights, and in Seattle, he participated in the WTO protests. During the past few years, he did strike support for local unions, supported progressive candidates, and was part of Everett Deserves a Raise, a small group that sponsored a ballot initiative in 2024 that resulted in a significant hourly increase in the minimum wage for Everett workers.Greg retired from King County in 2015, moved to Whidbey Island, traveled, kayaked, and was active in politics that fostered deep social change. He lived a full life and was loved by his wife and many others, all of whom are reeling with his abrupt departure. To say that “he will be missed” is a gross understatement.

Rest in light my darling angel. You will live in my heart as long as I am still in this world. Kristie Kujawski, July 21, 2025