The thrill of writing first captured Pat in second grade when her teacher, Mrs. Hettinga, handed her a picture of a boy and his dog then told her to create a story about that picture. Not long after, Pat saw a production of Tom Sawyer. The power of story and stage has been a driving force in her life ever since.

Life experience and writing exploded for Pat when she became a television reporter at KGW, the NBC affiliate in Portland, OR. Journalism exposed her to a rich spectrum of characters and circumstances. It taught her how to recognize the heart of the story, how to get people to express themselves, how to research facts and the truth behind the facts.

From fifth grade on, Pat made theater a part of her life. She took to the stage in high school, in college and later with Tapestry Theatre Company in Portland, OR. She wrote and directed two children’s plays along with many sketches to complement sermon themes at her church.

Tapestry commissioned Pat to write a Christmas show using the Big Band hits of the 1940s. That commission turned into the Christmas From Home series, five plays each focused on one of the war years. Playscripts, Inc. (now with Broadway Licensing and Concord Theatricals) published the 1943 and 1944 versions of World War II Radio Christmas.

Pat now lives in Central Oregon with her husband, Mel. She has two grown children. Since retiring from journalism, Pat spends her time writing plays and screenplays and essays on Substack. She hikes daily along the rim of the Deschutes River canyon.