Robert Duane Pattie

Robert Duane Pattie was born November 25, 1937, to Archibald (Archie) and Nellie Pattie at the family ranch in Troy, Montana. He had an older brother William (Bill) Pattie. He grew up at the family ranch in Troy and later moved to Spokane, Washington when he was in high school. He met the love of his life in high school, Jacqueline (Jackie) McDowell. They were married November 25, 1957. This year would have been their 64th wedding anniversary. He got his Bachelor of Science at Eastern Washington College of Education (later becoming Eastern Washington University). Then went onto to attain a Master’s of Natural Science degree in Education, Mathematics, and Physics at the University of Idaho. Bob and Jackie have five children. Diana, Teri, and Gary were born in Spokane, Washington. Roger and Susie were born in Renton, Washington. He has seven grandkids, Eight and Half great grandkids, and numerous nieces and nephews that all thought of him as a father figure. There are too many people to mention in which he has touched their life in some way.

Bob was always destined to be a teacher. He got his first teaching contract while finishing his degree at Eastern in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho teaching 7th grade math. Upon graduating from Eastern, he signed his second teaching contract at Rosalia High School in Rosalia, Washington. He taught math and was even the basketball coach. While teaching at Rosalia, Bob attended summer school to earn his master’s degree at Idaho. In 1964, Bob and Jackie left Rosalia and moved to Renton so he could teach at North Mercer Junior High. Bob taught on Mercer Island for two years and during that time, Bob also taught evening and summer classes at a nonprofit, private college in Renton. In 1966, after becoming an administrator at this private college, he re-charted the college as Maple Valley College. In the final years of Maple Valley College, he ran the school out of his house while he helped those final students complete their degrees.

It was hard to support a family of seven on his teacher’s salary, so in 1971 he went to work at Boeing. He worked as a finance manager supporting various engineering and program managers in the military division at Boeing. By the 1990’s, Bob had changed jobs within Boeing to become the Boeing representative to the National Defense Security Association. Earning respect in the industry, Bob was awarded the David Packard Excellence in Acquisition Award, which was presented in 1998 by the Integrated Program Management Initiative Joint Team (a subcommittee of the Performance Management Committee). This is the Defense Department’s highest acquisition award. In 2003, Bob was also awarded the Driessnack Distinguished Service Award from the PMI – College of Performance Management at their annual conference in Washington, DC.

This work required many trips to Washington, DC and the Pentagon to meet government employees. Through these trips (and with his frequent flyer miles), Bob and Jackie were able to bring many of their family members to Washington, DC to see the sights of our nation’s capital. Bob loved history, read numerous books, and was always willing to share his knowledge with anyone that was interested. A lot of family and friends got an appreciated history lesson from this knowledge. Of course, these many flights back east also brought Bob to Washington, DC on that fateful day in September 2001. He flew out of Washington, DC the morning of 9/11 on his way home after a long week of meetings. Unbeknownst to him and his fellow passengers on what had happened in New York and the Pentagon, his flight was grounded in Indiana. He stayed there with family members for the next few days until flight traffic resumed. Thankfully he made it home safely. Bob retired from Boeing after 35 years on January 1, 2003.

Bob has always had a love of rocks and the geological structure. He has been an active member of the Boeing Employee’s Mineralogy Society (the Rock Club) since 1974 and a representative on the Washington State Mineral Council since 1975. When the kids were young, there were numerous rock hounding trips to the areas in Western Washington. His brother Bill had the same passion for rocks. They would get together for hours discussing rocks and potential rock hunting locations. He had a rock tumbler in the basement that polished rocks from the rock hounding trips. When Boeing decided not to sponsor the rock club, the club was rechartered as the Cascade Mineralogical Society. He then volunteered his house for the new rock shop location for the club. A tent was erected in the backyard so club members could come and work on rocks. As the years passed, he was unable cut and polish rocks, but he was always willing to come out for a visit when guests came over. Always the teacher, Bob would take his love of rocks to local elementary schools, teaching the kids about rocks and geology. Each student would go home with a polished rock of their own. He wrote a number of papers and articles, working on legislation to maintain the rights of rockhounds. In 2017, Bob was awarded the Rockhound of the Year from the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies (AFMS). Just this year in 2021, Bob received a commendation from the AFMS for the article he wrote entitled “Recent Government Activities”.

In retirement, he got very involved in family genealogy. He was always researching family history and wrote several books on the different branches of the Pattie and McDowell family. He traveled around the western states visiting family members, telling and listening to family stories, and borrowing photos so he could scan them; all in order to expand his database and knowledge of the family tree. He had a lot of knowledge that he had not had a chance to share yet.

He survived a heart attack in 1997 and lung cancer in 2011. He never let those things slow him down, he just adapted. Even though his body was slowing him down, his mind was still always learning and sharing. He loved to work on jigsaw puzzles and if you ever stopped by to visit, there would always be a jigsaw puzzle setup in the living room. And he was always willing to let you help.

Bob, your family and friends will miss you greatly. You will always be in our hearts and on our minds. Maybe you can help us find those hidden treasures as we walk through our lives.