Linda Persha: In service for kids and women

Published 7:30 am Saturday, March 28, 2026

Linda Persha has been part of the Federal Way community for over 50 years and has been involved in service for over 30 years.

Persha was born on Aug. 18, 1944, in Centralia, Washington, and she grew up there with her mom, dad and brother. Her father sold salvaged parts, and her mother was a homemaker.

In her youth, Persha said she rode a lot of bikes and roller-skated competitively throughout her childhood and adolescence. She and her friends would do a lot of playing in a field behind her home right off Main Street. Persha said that in high school, she had fun going to sports games and going out on Fridays to a drive-in restaurant to get burgers.

She graduated from high school in 1962, then studied at Centralia College for two years before moving to Portland to attend dental assistant school. Persha said she met her husband, Mike, at a singles dance in Portland. They went on to have two kids.

In 1976, her husband got a job selling insurance in Washington, so her family moved to Federal Way in the Twin Lakes area. Persha said she didn’t want to move, especially because Federal Way was much smaller, but over time, Federal Way became home, and she likes it now.

Persha said when they moved to Federal Way, she stopped working as a dental assistant, raised her kids and helped her husband with insurance work.

“Once your kids start going to school, you make friends,” Persha said. “You start getting involved with the schools, PTAs and such.”

She was involved in her kids’ schools until her oldest graduated from Decatur High School in 1991. Then she joined Soroptimist International of Federal Way.

Persha said she was in Soroptimist for 31 years, serving as president five times. Soroptimist’s mission is to help women and girls proceed through life, and they fundraise for them.

“I thought it was time to get involved in the community since my kids were grown and I’d gone to an art auction, and I thought, ‘This is really good,’ so that’s when I joined,” Persha said.

Then, in 2011, Persha joined the Federal Way Kiwanis, where she is currently on the board of the club and the foundation. She joined because her father was in Kiwanis and she liked what they do for children. Persha explained that Kiwanis is a service group that helps fundraise for kids and creates scholarships for them. She said Kiwanis’ biggest fundraising event is their annual Salmon Bake in July.

“It’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun. The kids are great, that’s the thing,” Persha said. “It’s fun being around the kids. They got lots of energy and are very positive. All good kids.”

Persha said that one issue with Kiwanis is that, like most service clubs, they’re aging out. Most members are older, but they have recently gotten a few younger members, which helps, she said.

Persha said that if someone is considering joining a service club, they should do so because it would make them feel like they’re part of a community and involved in hands-on work helping people in need. Joining a service club is also a way to stay informed about what’s going on in the community without having to get involved in politics.

One particularly notable moment for Persha was receiving the Doug Benton Award about four years ago.

“The Doug Benton Award is an award for service in the community, and it’s really special,” Persha said. “It’s chosen by the club president. That was the highlight. Very special.”

Persha said some of her favorite things about Federal Way are the parks, such as Celebration Park and Steel Lake Park, and she also likes to go out to eat. She likes Billy McHale’s, Puerto Vallarta and Azteca, but her favorite place to go is Jimmy Mac’s Roadhouse.

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Each month, the Federal Way Mirror highlights a local senior who serves the community and has an interesting story to tell. Let us know who we should interview next by emailing Joshua Solorzano at joshua.solorzano@soundpublishing.com.