A public gathering to honor the life of former Mountlake Terrace City Council member and civic leader Pat McMahan will be held on Sunday, Sept.15. McMahan died at his home in Mountlake Terrace on Aug. 21 at the age of 83.

The no-host social gathering is scheduled to take place at the Embassy Suites Ballroom, 20610-44th Ave. W. in Lynnwood, beginning at noon. A program with invited speakers will take place from 1-2 p.m., followed by additional time for socializing. Music throughout the event will be performed by the Uptown Lowdown Jazz Band, Mr. McMahan’s favorite local group.

Family members announced the public gathering in an obituary for McMahan released to news media organizations this past week. While Mr. McMahan did not want a funeral service to be held after his death, he had told family members his wish was for a gathering of friends and family to take place.

The following is the obituary of Mr. McMahan, written by his children:

Patrick Donn McMahan, Sr.
May 13, 1930 — August 21, 2013

Our dad was a proud father, civic leader, business owner, and former firefighter who was a founding father of the City of Mountlake Terrace and known to many as “Mr. Mountlake Terrace.” We admired his honesty, work ethic, integrity, and humility and will miss him very much.He was born May 13, 1940 in Kansas City, Kansas to parents William Oliver and Ranier Roles McMahan. He died at home in Mountlake Terrace on August 21, 2013 at the age of 83. The family moved to Seattle in 1942, he spent two years at Franklin High School before graduating from Queen Anne High School in 1948, and spent a year at Seattle University before joining the Seattle Fire Department in 1950.

He purchased his first home in Mountlake Terrace for $6,200 in February of 1952 and married Beverly Barron on April 26 of the same year. They had five children: Colleen, Terri, Maureen, Patrick Jr., and Kevin, and divorced in 1980. He married Carol Yesland Thomsen in 1987.

In 1952, Mountlake Terrace did not have a fire department for its 4,000 residents. He was appointed a Captain by Snohomish County Fire District #1 in March and told to recruit and train 15 volunteers who began responding to fires two months later.

In 1953, he became co-chair of a committee formed to bring local government to the Mountlake Terrace community. The committee circulated petitions to form its own city with a council-manager form of government. Voters approved incorporation and the Charter for Mountlake Terrace was issued on November 29, 1954.

In 1956, no longer able to afford working as a Seattle firefighter, he left the department to work for Sears Allstate Division. After 19 months, he joined owner Tom Allen at Plaza Insurance Agency in Mountlake Terrace. In 1976, he started McMahan Insurance Agency where he worked as an insurance broker and vehicle licensing agent. In 1997, he sold the insurance agency to Patrick Jr.

His years of Mountlake Terrace civic involvement and service included work on numerous committees and causes. Most notable: volunteer fire chief (eight years), planning commissioner (seven years), city council member (12 years).

Public transportation was a huge passion. He worked with others to form Community Transit, served on their board, and for many years was a board member for the Snohomish county Committee for Improved Transportation. He was a charter Member of the Mountlake Terrace and South Snohomish County Chambers of Commerce and served on the County Chamber’s Board of Directors for 17 years.

He was a strong advocate for the Edmonds School District where he served as a citizen representative on numerous bond/levy committees, school building projects, and a new Edmonds Stadium. He was an outspoken advocate for equity in women’s sports and worked with a group of committed Mountlake Terrace parents to threaten a Federal lawsuit against the district if they did not comply with Title IX legislation. As a result, the District became a front-runner in establishing athletics opportunities for girls. He enjoyed watching high school sports throughout his retirement years and especially enjoyed attending playoff basketball games.

He actively supported his children’s academic, athletics and music pursuits and spend a number of years supporting fundraising efforts for the MTHS Dynamics Swing and Jazz Choirs and the business side of the Soundsation Jazz Camp. He loved the Sun Valley Jazz Music Festival and for many years organized groups of family and friends to attend.

At dad’s request there will be no funeral service. His wish was to have a gathering of family and friends. A public gathering to honor his life will take place Sunday, Sept. 15, at the Embassy Suites Ballroom in Lynnwood: 12:00 noon — 1:00 p.m., a no-host social with music performed by the Uptown Lowdown Jazz Band, his favorite local group; 1:00 — 2:00 p.m., program with invited speakers; 2:00 — 3:00 p.m., more music and socializing.

Dad is survived by wife Carol of Mountlake Terrace; his children, Colleen Sederlin of Coos Bay, Oregon, Terri McMahan of West Seattle and Bellingham, Maureen Rix McMahan of East Wenatchee. Patrick Jr. (Lucinda) of Edmonds, and Kevin (Ruth) of Mill Creek; brother Kerry of Seattle and sister Kathleen (Stuart) Sierer of Edmonds; grandchildren Conner Sederlin, Sharmi and Carly Rix, Cole and Ryan Farrow, Lindsay McMahan, and Denise, Stephanie, and Michelle Scott; nieces and nephews Erin Gamble, Mary Parsons, Shaun McMahan and Taft and Barry Sierer; Carol’s children Eric Thomsen of Mill Creek, Kristin Thomsen of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, grandson Jason Baird and his four children.

He was preceded in death by father William (1975), mother Ranier (1992), Kerry’s wife Barbara (1998), and Terri’s partner Betty Young (2010).