Patrick Mann, born to Marjorie Best and Lewis Mann on May 21, 1935 in Washburn, North Dakota, died peacefully with his family at his side in Seattle on January 31, 2021. He grew up in Washburn and graduated from Bismarck High School in 1953. Already a talented saxophone player, he attended Northwestern University and graduated with a BME in 1957.
Pat married Jean Heilman on August 1st, 1959, and the honeymooners moved to Guam where Pat established the public school music program. Pat and Jean moved to Minnesota two years later and Pat worked as a band director and a music teacher for many years. Pat also sold a variety of things including textbooks, knitting machines and insurance. But he always returned to music, devoting himself to preparing practice CDs for saxophonists around the world; playing his saxophone at local venues; singing with Seattle Pro Musica; and selling bagels to support the University Unitarian Choir in Seattle.
Pat infused playfulness into so much of what he did. As a young father, he enjoyed juggling – and would routinely jog and run 5K races while juggling. A dedicated billiards player, he once cross-country skied 5 miles on closed roads in rural Minnesota with a cue stick strapped to his back, desperate to attend a tournament in Minneapolis.
In the late 1990s, Pat and Jean moved from Minnesota to Seattle to create a multi-generational household that thrived for almost 15 years. He had a big heart and gave it freely to friends and family; the legacy of Grandpa Pat includes hundreds of carpool rides, soccer games, and after school snacks. Pat made coffee and breakfast in the cheeriest way possible; picked dandelions in the yard of every house on the block; loved spending time with his wife of more than a half century, as well as his two kids, seven grandchildren, and of course his snaggle-toothed dog Rosie.
Pat leaves behind his children, Laurie (Walter) and Eric; his beloved grandchildren, Elisabeth, Mica, Levia, Carmen, Moriah, Joelle and Boaz. Pat was preceded in death by his wife Jean, and by his siblings Betty Jo and Bill. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Seattle ProMusica at seattlepromusica.org/donate