PAT CARAHER bio by Ron Nordquist, April 2018
Pat Topics
I asked some of Pat’s
friends and family to describe him in two words or less. The responses were
interesting, yet not surprising to someone who knows Pat. His coffee klatch
buddies said:
“Kind Hearted,” “Mr.
Sincere,” “Unassuming,” “True Gentleman.”
Given the regard in which
he is held by others, as evidenced by the two word descriptors, his work ethic
and personality, it isn’t surprising that he was able to get his dream job at
WSU. In a bit of a twist on the old cliché, “It isn’t what you know, but who
you know”, it’s fair to say that Pat got his dream job at WSU both because of
“what he knew” and “who he knew.”
What he knew was
journalism. Degree from WSU in Communications with journalism emphasis, chosen
outstanding graduate in journalism upon his graduation, three semesters working
on the Daily Evergreen staff while at
WSU, stringer for the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer newspaper while still a student and intern in the Sports
Information Office while at WSU. And then, after graduation, three and one half
years working for the Eugene, Oregon Register-
Guard. Oh, “Humble Pat” (my 2 word descriptor) would be the first to say he
had much more to learn about his profession but he was well on his way.
So he’s 3 ½ years in
Eugene and he said that he began pondering what’s more important in life:
Location or Job. He likes where he lives – easy access to the ocean, about the
right distance from Portland, all the amenities of a large university near at
hand and he likes the job pretty well but there are some drawbacks. Working
schedule for one. Working in the office during the day and then having to cover
nighttime sporting events. He wonders how all that might shake out if and when
he gets married and has a family. As he ponders this, he gets a phone call from
another Pat, the “Who you know” part of the equation.
But before you learn about
this other Pat who called, you need to know more about the Pat who got the
call, Pat Caraher. He was born and grew up in Seattle. His Dad, Joe, was a
Cougar, having graduated from then WSC in 1935 and then served as the WSC
Alumni Director prior to WWII. After the war Joe was twice President of the WSU
Alumni Association so Pat had Cougar influence in his life from the git-go. Pat
had a normal growing-up time in Seattle. One thing he really enjoyed from a
young age was baseball. He played in some of the very first Little League games
in the Seattle area and later first base and outfield for his high school team.
He graduated from Seattle Prep in 1957 and then had to decide where to attend
college. Two things swayed him towards Pullman and WSU. One, he wanted to go
somewhere away from Seattle and two, his father influenced him to a great
extent.
So he enrolled at WSU in
the fall of 1957 not knowing anyone there and not knowing what he wanted to
study. He solved the “not knowing anyone bit” by going through rush and joining
the Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity. As to the “what to study” he took general
courses and got a degree in Social Science in 1962. He noted that famous WSU
Alum Edward R. Murrow was the commencement speaker that year. Upon his
graduation, Uncle Sam was waiting for him and he was drafted into the army and
spent his next two years at Fort Richardson in Alaska. Pat relates that two
notable events occurred while he was at Fort Richardson. First was the
assassination of President Kennedy in 1963 and the second was the massive 9.2
Good Friday Alaska earthquake in 1964. The buildings shook and the ground
trembled for several minutes, “seemingly an eternity,” Pat said. “In a flash my
life passed before my eyes.”
After discharge from the
army he went back to Seattle and looked for work. He said the job market was
tough. He worked a couple of months in construction and then three months as a
railroad switchman. These five months of manual labor plus some thinking about
his future, convinced him he needed to go back to school and get more of a
specialty degree and he settled on journalism. His father was a journalist and
Pat saw that his father liked what he was doing so Pat re-enrolled at WSU in
January 1965 majoring in Communications. He graduated in 1966 and armed with
that degree and the work experiences noted earlier, got the job with the
Eugene Register-Guard.
We’re now back to 3 ½
years in Eugene and his pondering about “Job vs Location” when he gets that
call from the other Pat. That “other Pat” is Pat Patterson, WSU’s Alumni
Director. The Alumni Office had been one of Pat Caraher’s beats while working
on the Evergreen Staff as a student, so he knew Pat Patterson and more
importantly, Pat Patterson remembered him and thus the call.
Pat Patterson said the
Alumni Office was going to start a new alumni publication and wondered if Pat was interested in interviewing for the
editor’s job. The words “Job vs Location” flashed through his mind and he
quickly said, “Yes.” He interviewed, got the job and became the Founding, and
as it turned out, the only Editor of the new publication, which was given the
name Hilltopics, for its 31 year run
at WSU.
He moved to Pullman in
1969 and began his 35 year career at WSU, for 31 years as Hilltopics editor and four more as Co-Editor of the Washington State University magazine,
which was the successor magazine to Hilltopics.
Pat said his 31 years as Hilltopics
editor were very interesting and satisfying because he got to know people from
all aspects of WSU life. His list of friends, acquaintances, and interviewees
reads like a Who’s-Who of all the movers and shakers at WSU during those years.
The job was also a bit taxing. Ten issues a year (later cut back to 8) with 24
pages each issue. That’s a lot if interviewing.
Pat’s working companions in
University Relations had nothing but good to say about him. A few quotes: “I
never saw him angry,” “Wow, could that man write,” “He was totally dedicated,”
“All Around,” “Always Inquisitive,” “Trusted Friend.”
It was during those early
years back at WSU that he met Laurie, his wife also a Cougar (’75 Music
Education). They met in church. Laurie was from a Pullman family which was also
a golfing family. Pat said their first date was playing golf on the old WSU
nine hole golf course. They got married in 1976. Pat and Laurie have three daughters, Maureen,
Kelly and Theresa all of whom graduated from WSU and who have produced four
grandchildren for Grandpa Pat to spoil. Family members, including a couple of
grandkids, described Pat as follows: “People Person,” “Selfless,” “Loyal,” “Consistent,” “Faithful,” “Lifetime Volunteer,”
“Pullman’s Mayor,” “Lots of Friends,” “Likes to Read.” One elaborated on her
choices by saying, “Selfless because he always puts others before himself and
Loyal because he is loyal to his family, friends, community, faith/church and
his beloved Cougs.”
Because of his work on Hilltopics and other WSU and community
activities, Pat received the WSU Alumni Achievement Award in 1995.
Pat’s hobbies and
activities apart from work were and are quite varied: International and
domestic travel, reading books, newspapers and obituaries. Obituaries because
each one is a vignette of a person’s life, birth to death. He also likes
golfing and exercising, particularly walking with Laurie and friends, and all
Cougar sports, especially baseball which he calls his “love and vice.” He was a
Rotary Club member for 42 years. Rotary’s motto of “Service above Self”
certainly epitomizes who Pat is. Also, for the last 14 years Pat has served as
a Volunteer Chaplain at Pullman Regional Hospital. And he can’t stop writing.
In 2016 he started writing random stories of his memories and reflections. The
titles of two so far are: “Three Broken Teeth and Two Broken Legs,” and “Flying
Kites and Building Sand Castles.” I told Pat he should combine these stories in
book form and title it “Pat-Topics.”
So, back in Pullman at
WSU, Pat got both “Location” and “Job satisfaction”, a wife and family and many
friends. Pat said he loved his job and his wife, “Best thing that ever happened
to me,” he said, meaning his wife not the job. But maybe the job was second
best.
David Nordquist
April
2018
