Frank Inslee was a fourth- generation Washingtonian. A 1944 graduate of Ballard High School, he served in the Navy during World War II. During his education career, Frank was a biology teacher, high-school coach, counselor and Athletic Director.

After the war, Inslee started teaching in Tenino, Thurston County, while working nights cleaning tanks at the Olympia Brewery. He later taught biology for many years and served as the assistant coach of the basketball team at Garfield High School. In 1957, when Chief Sealth High School opened, he moved to the new school, where he was the basketball and track coach. He is remembered as a teacher who went out of his way to help students who were struggling academically.

In 1965, Inslee became Athletic Director of Seattle Public Schools, where he embraced implementation of federal Title IX, the law that expanded women’s athletics in public schools. In 1977, he was named State Athletic Director of the Year.

After retiring from Seattle Public Schools, Inslee sold artificial turf and was active, with his wife, in the Student Conservation Association, leading trips to Mount Rainier to do conservation work on trails and wilderness areas and working to restore meadows