- Pat Howard started as an intern at the Erie Times-News in 1981, when he was 18
- He was hired as a reporter in 1983 and started writing columns in 1988
- Community leaders, others remembered him as fair, accessible, insightful and kind
For 32 years, Pat Howard wrote opinion columns for the Erie Times-News that left readers smiling,burningin anger or nodding their heads in agreement.
Mostly, Howard just wanted to give readers something to think about.
And even more so, Howard wanted to see his beloved Erie, the only place he ever called home, succeed and live up to its potential.
Howard, who retired from the Erie Times-News on Dec. 1, died on Monday, leaving behind an archive of commentary on Erie and a voice that, though it has gone silent, will be remembered for years to come for its insight, intelligence and grace.
He was 59.
"The combination of Pat’s humor, candorand his inability to call it anything but what it was, made him a great opinion journalist,"former Erie School District Superintendent Jay Badams recalled."But it was Pat’s love for the city of Erie, and the Erie region, that made him our conscience."
Howarddied at his home in southwest Erie on Monday morning, Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook said. He said Howarddied of natural causes.
The Burton Quinn-Scott funeral home is handling arrangements. The funeral home said afull obituary will be published in the Erie Times-News on Sunday.
Howard was synonymous with the Erie Times-News for his entire adult life. He interned at the Erie Daily Times, the company's afternoon newspaper at the time,in the summers of 1981 and 1982, when he also worked as a lifeguard at city of Erie pools. He was 18 when he started the first internship.
Howard, an alumnus of Cathedral Preparatory School, graduated from Pennsylvania State University, where he studied journalism, in November 1982.
In January 1983, the Mead family, which then owned the Erie Times-News, hired him as a reporter at the Erie Daily Times.Howard was 21.
About five years later, the managing editor of the Erie Daily Times, Toni Polancy, asked at a staff meeting if anyone wanted to write a column.
"My hand shot up before she finished her sentence,"Howard recalled in his farewell column, published on Nov. 29.
Pat Howard's final column:Thank you, Erie, for a hell of a ride
"That was November of 1988 when I was 27," Howard wrote. "I’ve been running at the keyboard ever since."
And run he did.
He wrote as many as three columns a week at one point, with his signature column, on Sundays, appearing for 21 years until his retirement.
Howard wrote about his parents: his mother, Mildred, a nurse, and his father, Charles, a city of Erie firefighter. Howard wrote about his wife, Tricia, who washis biggest fan and sounding board.
And though he sometimes opined on national politics, Howard was at his sharpest and often most acerbic when he wrote about Erie: its failings, its strengths, its oddities, its inanities and its countless politicians, many of whom were objects of hisfrustration or ire.
For many, being the subject of a Howard column, no matter how stinging, was like a badge of honor. And when Howard praised you in print, that was really something.
"Pat did his job, and he did it well," former Erie Mayor Joyce Savocchio said."He left a legacy of helping the community understand itself.”
Savocchiosaid she first met Howard at the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, very early in his career.
“He was young, energetic and we both shared a lot of excitement about being there.I was very impressed with him,” said Savocchio, who was elected mayor in 1989 after eight years on Erie City Council.
Savocchio served three consecutive terms as mayor,through 2001. Savocchio said during her tenure as mayor, she had numerousconversations with Howard, and her administration was often the subject of his commentary.
“But it wasn’t adversarial,” Savocchio said. “He was doing his job and doing that job was part of his commitment to this community.He was very community-centered, and he played a very vital role.
“I know a lot of times people in elected positions view the media in strange ways,” she said. “To me, the media is so important to the community."
Starting with the 1984 Democratic National Convention, Howard attended a number of national political conventions during his career. One of the most memorable was the 2000 Republican National Convention, in Philadelphia, where Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge was in consideration asGeorge W. Bush's running mate.
Bush picked Dick Cheney en route to winning the presidency, but Ridge brought attention to his native Erie throughout the convention, and Howard covered the political drama and had a lengthy interview with Ridge.
"Pat was a proud Erie partisan and an institution for decades at the Times-News," Ridge said in a statement on Monday in which he and his wife, Michele, offered their condolences."As a public servant, I sometimes found myself on the wrong end of his keyboard, but he knew the First Amendment required him to hold me to account. I always respected his style and approach, even if I disagreed with his opinion.
"Pat leaves behind a remarkable legacy. He made his readers smarter while also entertaining us. In his final column, Pat wrote that the whole point of his life's work was the cause of this community —Erie, PA. We've always known how special it is. Michele and I are thinking of Pat's family and friends on this sad day."
One of Howard's strengths was that he waswilling to listen no matter what you thought of his opinions.
"He was always someone I could reach out to," said state Rep. Pat Harkins, of Erie, D-1st Dist. "Even if you didn't agree, he always gave you a logical explanation of wherehe was coming from and forced you to see the other side of the story.
"I always respected him and looked forward to his column."
Though Howard was known primarily for his columns, he held a series of prominent positions at the Erie Times-News at the same time he was writing. Among his titles were news director, managing editor, city editor, editor of news production, editor of opinion and engagement and editorial page editor.
"There wasn't anyone who worked with Pat who wasn't a better journalist for it," said Matt Martin, Times-News executive editor. "He led investigations that forced reform. He brought singular critical thought to the editorial pages he oversaw and the news sections he edited. He was utterly committed to his craft and his hometown.
"Our hearts at the Times-News are with Tricia, Pat's brother and his family, and Pat'sfriends."
Howard hadinterests outside journalism, though, as his loyal readers knew, his life was reflected in his columns and his columns made upmuch of his life.
He wasan avidbicycle rider who liked to regale the newsroom with his viewsonthe Tour de France. Heread constantly andrelished intensedebates, often at a bar with friends and colleagues.
He was open to new ideas and never questioned that Erie had to change and, in many instances, come to terms with its past to achieve true progress.
Erie Next Initiative:Learn more about Erie Next, the Erie Times-News reporting initiative
"He wouldn’t let us forget our history—always urging us to move beyond our long-established habits, and he wouldn’t let us lose sight of what was at stake," former Superintendent Badams recalled.
"By being that voice in the back of our heads, he held all of us accountable, whether leaders or citizens, and he did so with an optimism that envisioned Erie’s great potential as a city and as a community. I can’t believe he’s gone, and I hope someone picks up Pat’s pen and carries on with the same fervent belief that Erie is a great city with its best days ahead."
More:Shortage of empathy divides Erie community
In the months before his retirement, Howardfocused onsocial justice in his columns, particularly after thedeath of George Floyd, a Black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis in May.
Pat Howard column:Refusing to live with what’s wrong
“Pat and I talked a lot about racism and what we could do collectively in this community to eliminate racism,” recalled Bishop Dwane Brock, of Victory Christian Center.
“We also talked a lot about the fact that we have to be willing as a community to address the demons people possess in terms of racism and bigotry and oppression,” Brock said. “He said ‘Count me in.’ He wanted to be a part of affecting change in this community. He is going to be sorely missed.”
Over the past several years, Howard also frequently wrote about Erie's attempt to reshape itself and combat persistent issues, such as child poverty. The main blueprint for the city has been theErie Refocused comprehensive planunveiled in 2016.
More:Pat Howard: Pandemic overshadows Erie's progress
The plan's author, Charles Buki, the founder and principal consultant of urban planning firm CZB, based in Alexandria, Virginia, talkedwith Howard many times over the years.
"I liked and respected Pat Howard a lot, and for a number of reasons. Not for nothing was he a respected Erie institution," Buki said.
"Pat was never unwilling to just be a person even while being a journalist, which meant he liked to participate in off-the-record conversations because a human connection mattered. He never played gotcha games. Off-the-record conversations had integrity, and he had complete journalistic integrity.
"He was a man of integrity and kindness," Buki said. "That’s a heck of a legacy by any measure."
Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNpalattella.
Contact Kevin Flowers atkflowers@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at@ETNflowers.
