Lake Washington High School honored Doug Chapple during a special ceremony to say goodbye to the Gymnasium that has his name Friday. The ceremony took place between the girls and boys varsity basketball games in front of a full gymnasium of current students, former students and faculty. The gymnasium was named for the former teacher, athletic director and coach in 1993 and is set for demolition after the basketball season.

Chapple was an educator for 48 years and estimated that he had contact with between 65,000-70,000 students at Lake Washington High School.

“Our duty was to help kids realize their dreams,” Chapple told the crowd. “I want to thank all the wonderful kids and staff that helped build some wonderful Kang memories.”

Some of Chapple’s most prized moments in the gymnasium came as a coach, as he guided numerous teams to KingCo titles. But his most precious memory was getting married in the gymnasium in front of over 1,000 people. The gymnasium will be torn down to make way for the rebuilt high school and subsequent gym, which will open this fall.