A chapter of Covington’s history came to a close last week when pharmacist Jim Ramseth ended his 40-year career in the community.
When the QFC corporation announced in October it would close the Covington store in December, Ramseth had a decision to make, and it would not be an easy one.
The 69-year-old Ramseth has been the pharmacist for the Covington community for the past four decades. He owned and operated the Covington Pharmacy, which he opened in 1969 in the shopping center built by Johnny Somers, where QFC is currently located.
Once QFC announced the store would be closing, which had been Johnny’s grocery, Ramseth knew he could move to Fred Meyer, but he decided to go to the West Seattle QFC pharmacy.
“I promised my wife (Patricia) I would retire next year,” Ramseth said. “If I had gone over to Fred Meyer I would have still been attached. She would have been worried I could not separate.”
He finally told his wife he would move to the West Seattle QFC and “help them get their pharmacy started.”
It all began in the late 1960s when Somers built Johnny’s grocery store in Covington and he had a vision for a shopping center.
Ramseth was working at Key Rexall in Renton. According to Ramseth, Somers drove up in his Cadillac.
“He said ‘Get in, I want to show you the future,’” Ramseth said.
Somers took him to Covington, which was not an incorporated city at that time.
Somers told Ramseth if he committed to starting the pharmacy, “I’ll build a wing for you” in the shopping center.
Ramseth took the plunge with a partner, and one of the most important Covington community members had come to town.
The pharmacy began as the Covington Key Rexall, but eventually changed to the Covington Pharmacy.
Shortly after opening in 1969, a recession gripped the Puget Sound region and Ramseth was told by a distributor “you guys are going out of business.’”
But there was a reason Somers had tapped Ramseth on the shoulder that day. He had seen something in the young pharmacist and businessman.
“We did what independent guys do,” Ramseth said. “We worked and did what we had to do to survive.”
According to Ramseth the shopping center had a beauty shop, the “Awful Brothers” gas station, Doug’s barber shop, a small appliance store and of course the anchor was Johnny’s grocery store. The group of stores became the center of the growing community of Covington.
Inside the pharmacy, Ramseth’s wife ran the community post office. Ramseth said his wife was the “post mistress” of Covington for 25 years until the new post office was built. She was honored as the “Covington Citizen of the Year” after the post office closed.
Ramseth joined QFC and closed the Covington Pharmacy about 2 1/2 years ago when a lease arrangement for the business could not be work out with the landlord.
Many of the people who worked for Ramseth spent their careers with him, including pharmacist Wanda Crow who will be moving to Fred Meyer. Mary Foxworthy, a pharmacy technician, will also be moving to Fred Meyer.
The other two technicians working with Ramseth, Connie Bales and Melanie Galbraith, will be working at QFC stores in the region until they find a permanent spot.
Ramseth said closing the store and ending this era of his life has been the “most rewarding and difficult weeks of my life. There have been a lot of hugs and tears. My wife said ‘Jim do you realize most people don’t get to hear this stuff until their funeral.’”
Mayor Margaret Harto said, “Most people don’t realize what an institution he was. He was the community pharmacist and much more. He committed himself to this community.”
