Patricia M. “Pat” Nixon, mother of Kirkland city council member Toby Nixon, passed away Feb. 1 after a long illness. She was 80.
Born in Hackensack, New Jersey, she had most recently lived in an adult family home in Bellevue, but previously lived in Kirkland for 16 years, on the Big Island of Hawaii for 20 years, and in California, Connecticut, Arizona, New Jersey and many other places in the U.S.
Pat lived an unconventional life.
At various times she worked as a keypunch operator, miniature golf course operator, long-haul truck driver, New York City taxi driver, school bus driver, Hawaii tour guide and tour-bus driver, fast food restaurant manager, church custodian, security guard, cat rescue owner and stay-at-home mom.
She proudly told people she had been at Woodstock. She lived in a shack on the side of Kilauea and raised rabbits for food. She rode a Harley through all 48 contiguous states. At age 70, she drove alone round-trip from Seattle to Anchorage in ten days “just because,” and to be able to say she had been to all 50 states. She got her first tattoo at age 60, and wore eight pierced earrings in each ear – the birthstone of each grandchild.
She loved pug dogs, owls, meerkats, Harleys, Star Trek and Princess Diana. She was a voracious reader of science fiction. She played many musical instruments, including clarinet in the Arizona State Sun Devil marching band, and loved to listen to classical organ music.
She is survived by her sons Toby, Bill (Sacramento, Calif.), and Larry (Tenino, Wash.), their wives Irene, Karen, and Rita, eight grandchildren, and her sister Terri (Tempe, AZ). The sons’ father, Vance, preceded her in death in 2011.
A memorial service in her honor will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 20, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Totem Lake meetinghouse, 13220 NE 132nd Street, Kirkland. In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to PAWS or Seattle Humane Society.
There will be no graveside service or burial locally. Pat longed to move back to Hawaii sometime, and so she shall. In accordance with her wishes, her cremated remains will be scattered on Hilo Bay, along with those of her beloved pugs Hercules and Pugsley, later this summer.
