September 30, 1937 - October 06, 2009
Charles "Pat" Haskins Obituary
After another summer enjoying his cabin on the shores of Lake Coeur d?Alene, lifetime Spokane resident Charles Patrick Haskins, known by all as ?Pat,? was diagnosed with an aggressive late-stage kidney cancer that took his life on October 6, 2009. Born on September 30th, 1937, the only surviving child of Curtiss and Lillian Haskins, Pat had just turned 72 years when he passed away at Spokane Hospice House after being cared for at Sacred Heart Medical Center. Content with a meaningful life well lived, he was surrounded by his entire family: his beloved wife of thirty years, fellow lifetime Spokane resident, Camille (nee Erickson) Haskins, and his children: Paul Haskins (1967, Bellingham), Tylene Dorsey (1968, Sedro-Woolley), Jay Haskins (1970, Seattle), Curtiss Haskins (1981, Detroit), and Eric Haskins (1985, Spokane). He is also survived by six grandchildren, all who were able to share time with him during his last months and days: Zachary, Nathaniel and Hailey Dorsey, Finnian Haskins, and Yumi and Kohji Haskins. Pat Haskins was a lifelong Spokane resident, except for five years in Seattle while attending the University of Washington (he was the president of the Delta Upsilon fraternity in 1959 and graduated with a degree from the Foster School of Business in 1960). He also had a few stints as a yeoman with the Navy Reserve that took him to such places as the Panama Canal. Growing up in Spokane, he attended Wilson Elementary School and Lewis & Clark High School (class of 1955). After returning from UW, he worked briefly as a loan officer at Spokane?s Old National Bank but soon became interested in commercial real estate. He was first mentored by and worked for James S. Black, went into sales at American West Realty, and then in 1964 he and his father started Haskins Properties. Pat managed the business with his father until his father?s death in 1991, then becoming sole owner and manager until recent months, when his health began declining. All told, Pat had over 40 years in commercial real estate and was throughout that time an involved, highly respected, and trusted businessman. He was president of the Spokane Building Owners and Managers Association in 1975 and was an active member of Rotary Club 21 of Spokane. And on August 25 this year, Pat?s colleagues and peers from the Spokane Real Estate Traders Club celebrated him as an Honorary Lifetime Member. Life was not all work for Pat. With his parents, he spent summers boating at Twin Lakes. Later, after his mother died (1961) and his father married Muriel Harold (known as ?Tutu? to Pat?s children), he enjoyed trapshooting at the Spokane Gun Club, where his father was an early president; his father was also a president of the American Trapshooters Association and the Washington State Trapshooting Association. This family involvement and his own skill resulted in Pat earning the Washington State Trapshooting Junior Championship in 1951, 1953 and 1954, and he even won a national championship at The Grand American, an annual event Pat and his parents competed in several summers. In the late 1950s and into the early ?60s, Pat and his father operated a trapshooting sports store in Spokane, Haskins Shooters Supply. Pat has always been an inspiration and support to his friends and family. From the man who only met him a year ago who expressed what a wonderful influence Pat has been on him and his wife in such a short time, to a younger man who, with Pat?s boys, experienced the generosity and kindness that Pat was so known for: ??I recognized it even as a teenager camping with your dad in Scouts and seeing him on the mountain at a ski race, and I certainly see it clearer in hindsight as a father myself now?your dad REALLY loved you guys, he'd light up with an enormous smile just at the mention of you kids?.? As a father, Pat was passionate about supporting his children in their efforts. With his younger boys, Curt and Eric, he was very involved with youth soccer and hockey, as well as Cub and Boy Scouts, ski and snowboard racing, and academics. And he was always was ready to travel to see Paul, Tylene, Jay, and their families--to go fishing, camping, hiking or sailing, or just to visit for a holiday or boat show or birthday. Anyone who knows Pat also knows his other passion has always been boats and boating?whether aboard big cruise ships with Camille, visiting worldwide destinations, or aboard one of his own power boats visiting local communities. With his older children, he would spend time at Priest Lake. And he often visited Lake Coeur d?Alene after marrying Camille, whose family had a cabin near Beauty Bay. But Pat began launching his adventures from his own nearby cabin that he purchased five years ago. Since then, every summer and into early fall, he loved to kick back on his deck, and at any opportunity take his friends, children and grandchildren waterskiing, wakeboarding and bunbusting, or just boating the lengths of the lake--always steady at the helm. The Haskins family is grateful and touched by the love and support received in recent months from Pat?s friends old and new, and the whole community?and overwhelmed by the number that came to say goodbye to Pat in person. The family wishes to extend special thanks to Dr. Corliss Newman and nurse Becky for their care and expertise during Pat's treatment, as to everyone at Spokane Hospice House for their loving care and support. A Memorial Service will be held at Heritage Funeral Home on Friday, October 23rd at 3:30 PM. Pat will be laid to rest at Greenwood Memorial Terrace near his parents. In lieu of flowers, please send gifts in memory of Pat Haskins to First Presbyterian Church, 318 South Cedar Street, Spokane, WA 99204-1684.
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