J. Patrick Dobel

Born on 15 September 1948 in Kansas City, MO, J. Patrick (Pat) Dobel died on 29 January 2025 of pancreatic cancer in Seattle WA. His life was full of passions: his family, sports, travel, scholarship and teaching at the University of Washington, and service to others. It is likely that his only regret is that he did not see the Seattle Mariners make it to the World Series, but the KC Chiefs made up for that loss.

Pat grew up in Kansas City, with his parents and five younger siblings. He attended St. Francis Xavier grade school, but it was at Rockhurst High School that he began his journey of intellectual discovery and found friends that lasted a lifetime, as well as a deep love of history, religion and philosophy, and competitive debate. After high school, he attended Boston College, graduating summa cum laude in 1970. He left college early so that he could complete service in the Army Reserves, focusing on being an army medic. His time on the burn unit at Fort Sam Houston never left his memory. 

In the fall of 1971, he began studies for a PhD at Princeton University in political theory. There, in 1972, he met Lea Vaughn, his future wife. Despite perhaps too much time spent playing tennis and volleyball, he received his PhD in June 1976. 

Pat's career launched at the University of Michigan - Dearborn. He discovered a lifelong love of teaching, and of mentoring students, receiving several awards for his teaching. He especially enjoyed teaching the foundational American Government course, and well as Ancient and Medieval Political Theory. At the same time, he discovered his voice as a writer - both as a scholarly writer for publications like The American Political Science Review, and as a public intellectual writing for publications such as Christian Century and Commonweal. Pat married Lea in 1978, upon her graduation from law school, in Ann Arbor, Mi, where they lived for ten years.

In 1984, Pat followed Lea to her hometown of Seattle, WA where they both began careers on the University of Washington faculty. Pat's appointment was to the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance, where he taught ethics, leadership, and strategic management. During his career, he encapsulated the UW motto: "Be Boundless!" In 1990, he published his ground-breaking book, Compromise and Political Action: Political Morality in Liberal and Democratic Life as well as a continuous stream of articles on ethics and public service, values-driven management, and legacy. Pat learned he had a talent for administration, serving as associate dean several times, but he was most proud of his service as Faculty Athletic Representative, a post he held from 2004-2011. While it was a fun job, he was deeply committed to ensuring the academic integrity of the athletic program for all the student athletes. Pat engaged in numerous public service appointments, but it was his service on local and state ethics boards that he regarded as the most important and impactful. It was a place where his scholarly concerns and personal values were in perfect alignment. His career was marked by numerous awards for his teaching, scholarship and service. The capstone of these accolades was his appointment as the John and Marguerite Corbally University Professor of Public Service in 2011.

Pat had a life beyond the University. One of his enduring passions was travel, and he was exceptionally proud of the fact he travelled to all seven continents. He was particularly fond of the memories of a trip to Egypt with his son, Matthew, and a trip to Antarctica with his daughter, Hilary. He and his wife always enjoyed their trips to the United Kingdom, Hawaii, and the family's much beloved yearly trips to Cannon Beach, OR.

Most important to Patrick, however, was his family. They raised two children: Hilary (1986) and Matthew (1988). He delighted in their achievements and supported them in their struggles, not always the perfect parent, but always willing-to-learn. Much to his wife's chagrin, he even learned to tolerate, if not love, their parade of cats (although he was relieved to finally have a dog, Lily the Corgi). For Pat, family is "the best thing that ever happened to me."

Patrick is survived by his spouse, Lea Vaughn, and his children, Hilary (Jon Ullman m. 2014, Miriam b. 2019, Ezra b. 2022) and Matthew as well as his siblings and their children: Tim, Mike (Sue), Mark, Theresa, and Maureen, and many wonderful lifelong friends whom he will deeply miss.

Donations should be made to the Washington Talking Book and Braille Library, where he donated his vocal talents after retirement: Washington Talking Book & Braille Library. At this time, no memorial is planned. Finally, the family wishes to thank their wonderful Sunset Hill neighbors for their unflagging support, as well as Kline Galland Hospice, the Swedish Cancer Institute (at Ballard) and Aegis Living-Greenwood.