It’s only fitting that David Bothell and his family will be in the spotlight this Saturday.

The fifth-generation descendant of the city’s founding father, also David Bothell, will be hitting the downtown streets as grand marshal of the 4th of July Grand Parade.

“Oh, I consider this quite an honor. We’re the only Bothells in Bothell to the best of my knowledge,” said the 66-year-old, who noted that he believes his daughter, Lisa, is the only Bothell to graduate from Bothell High.

“In 2006, I was the grand marshal, and they said, ‘Oh, you should probably be the grand marshal of the Centennial Parade.’”

The city held its 100-year celebration in April with a pair of events at Centennial Park and downtown.

Joining David in the parade will be his wife, Sandy; daughter, Lisa, and her husband, Mike, and their three children; and possibly a great-grandson. They plan to drive in their four-door pickup truck, so the whole gang will fit in to soak up the festivities, David said.

Oddly, David, who grew up in Simi Valley, Calif. and graduated from Hollywood High, didn’t discover his roots until vacationing in the Seattle area in 1972. While driving on Interstate 5, he spotted a Bothell sign and visited the town out of curiosity.

Soon after, he learned of his family history, which his grandmother kept under wraps after divorcing his grandfather.

“I felt like an orphan who finally discovered he had a family,” David said.

“I said, ‘Let’s move here.’ It’s a great place to raise our children.”

Back then, he worked at Magna Color Press near the Space Needle and came home to Bothell each night.

“The pace was a lot slower in 1972. And we didn’t have to lock our doors so much,” he said. “My wife, for the first 10 years didn’t get used to the rain. Now, if it doesn’t rain, she gets upset.”

David is “in between jobs” nowadays and enjoys the Bothell life more than ever.

“I’m still meeting relatives,” he said. “When we go shopping and write a check, they give it a double take when they look at it.”

He added with a laugh: “I say, ‘If the check bounces, you can refinance the town.’”

The Grand Parade starts downtown at noon.

For more information, see page 2.