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Patricia Mitchell ’32

March 27, 2018, in Portland, at 108 years of age.

The only child of Hugh and Jane Mitchell, Patricia was born in Orland, California, where her father worked for the Bureau of Fisheries. The family moved up and down the Pacific coast, and after attending grade school in Clackamas, Pat graduated from Washington High School. At Reed, she majored in art and wrote her thesis, “A Sketch for a Mural Painting to be Placed over a Fireplace,” gaining a combined liberal arts and fine arts degree from Reed and the School of Museum of Fine Arts.

In the 1932 Griffin, she is described as “quiet but charming, and a grand sense of humor. She has had a busy time trekking back and forth between art school and Reed. She is very apt at wielding the paintbrush, whether sketching a mountain, a limpid lady, or dizzy skyscrapers for dance decorations.”

In 1941, she began working as the executive secretary for Clarence Bishop, the president of Pendleton Woolen Mills. Upon Bishop’s passing, she assisted C.M. “Mort” Bishop Jr. and his brother B.H. “Brot” Bishop, their mother Harriet, and CFOs Mike Haggerty, Bob Mathis, and Dennis Simmonds. Pat officially retired in 1999 at the age of 90, concluding her Pendleton career of 58 years. She was inducted into Pendleton’s “Modern Day Hall of Fame,” with a “Patricia Weekender Jacket” named after her. In 2009, she celebrated her 100th birthday as Pendleton was also celebrating 100 years of incorporation. It was a memorable occasion as she was ceremoniously draped with a centennial blanket called “Spirit of the Peoples.”

She moved from her Eastmoreland home in 1986 to an apartment in Holladay Park Plaza, where she resided for 32 years. Pat enjoyed traveling with passport entries for Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and Europe. She is survived by her many friends and family at Pendleton Woolen Mills and her former Pendleton associate, Dave Taft, who following his own retirement became her daily champion of care and friendship for more than 13 years.

Appeared in Reed magazine: September 2018

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