Patti passed away on 6/15/21 surrounded by friends who loved her and with her husband, Dave Claar, at her side. Small in stature but with the heart of a giant, Patti’s beautiful smile, generous spirit, and passion for teaching, balanced by a will strong enough to attain any goal, won her friends and admirers wherever she went. She is dearly missed by her family and her many, many friends— both human and bunny.
A lifelong Seattleite, Patti grew up in Wallingford and was a graduate of Lincoln HS and then WSU, where she studied chemical textiles. Her research career spanned decades, at the UW/Seattle and Children’s Hospital/Seattle, and included working on a cystic fibrosis diagnostic, kidney dialysis, arthritis, cardiac ultrasound, and atherosclerosis. A true Renaissance woman, Patti excelled in many endeavors, including biomedical research, skiing, mountaineering, gardening, sewing, knitting, and caring for her many house bunnies. Frustrated at having to forego high school woodshop (only offered to boys back then) for home economics, Patti enrolled in woodworking classes after college, eventually designing and building bookcases, lamps, tables, a buffet, a grandfather’s clock, and (together with her husband) all of her bedroom furniture.
While her paid work was in Seattle, Patti’s heart and spirit were in the mountains, in Washington and abroad, and in traveling the globe: she visited every continent save Australia. After growing up in a non-camping family, she joined the Mountaineers in 1965 “to learn how to camp without dying,” intending to quit soon afterward… and proceeded to become a mainstay of the Mountaineers, and especially Meany Lodge, for 56 years— including a six year term on the Mountaineers Board of Trustees. Patti’s service was recognized with the Mountaineers Service Award (2016), Outdoor Centers Service Award (2019), and the Mountaineers Leader of the Year award (2020).
While learning how to camp without dying Patti tried her hand at mountain climbing-and climb she did, summiting all 6 major glaciated Washington state peaks in one summer and eventually scaling 20 different peaks in the Snoqualmie area. It was on a Mt. Baker climb that Patti met her future husband Dave, when he “rescued” her from a snow moat. It took six years of pursuit up and down many mountains, but Dave eventually won her over and they married in 1976.
After starting off as a climb leader and teacher Patti branched out into organizing and leading hikes, snow shoeing, and ski trips in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Costa Rica for the Mountaineers Global Adventures. Patti learned how to ski at Snoqualmie Pass in high school and subsequently became a ski instructor; she was a Professional Ski Instructor Assoc. member for 55 years. Although she taught at Fiorini’s ski school for years, she put her heart and soul into the Mountaineers Meany Lodge program. At Meany one of Patti’s most important and enduring successes was persuading the Mountaineers to install a tow rope (“Turtle Tow”) for beginner skiers. Amongst her other Meany accomplishments, Patti founded the ski school and ran it for 50 years, taught downhill and cross-country skiing, organized mushrooming weekends, revitalized the Lodge’s wood floors, put in showers, and inspired several generations of children to follow the rules (…at least while she was watching them). Simply put, Meany Lodge would not be what it is today without Patti and Dave.
As much as she was known for her love of the mountains, Patti was equally known for her love of bunnies and all things lagomorph— except for the cottontails who gate-crashed her garden. She and Dave adopted their first house rabbit in 1990, and over the years parented over three dozen bunnies, up to eight at a time. All were rescues, and many came with special medical needs that were carefully and expertly tended. Patti could often be found at the University District farmer’s market, collecting carrot tops for her bunnies and those of her friends, or out in her large veggie garden raising produce for her long-eared children.
Patti is survived by her husband, Dave Claar, their seven bunnies, and the generations of Meanyites to whom she taught parallel turns and a love of the mountains. She remains in our hearts a shining example of a life well-lived. A celebration of her life will be held at the Mountaineers headquarters on 10/24, noon-2pm, vaccination and rsvp required; please rsvp at the Mountaineers website (www.mountaineers.org) or by emailing Garrett Arnold at garretta@mountaineers.org. Financial remembrances may be made to the Mountaineers/Meany Lodge Capital Fund or Special Bunny (specialbunny.org/patti). In her memory, give a bunny a carrot, take a hike, climb a mountain, ski a double black diamond run; live your life to the fullest.