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Pat's parting is such sweet sorrow
TIM CURRAN
THE MID-COUNTY MEMO

After more than 33 years at City Home Improvement, Office Manager Pat Dragowsky, flanked by bosses Ron, left, and Charles “Buck” Best, retired in March.
Mid-county Memo photos/Tim Curran
Dozens of past and current co-workers surround City Home Improvement Office Manager Pat Dragowsky, seated, who said goodbye last month after 33 years as their office manager.
It was an emotionally charged day for City Home Improvement Office Manager Pat Dragowsky when dozens of past and present employees assembled at the Parkrose business' showroom for a group picture with her. While the occasion was neither a formal going away party for Pat, who was retiring after more than 33 years, nor retirement ceremony, the party spirit was prevalent with cards, flowers, good feelings and lots of hugs. “There's not a one that hasn't been to my house,” she said.

Not only happy to see so many old friends, but also sad to know she wouldn't be seeing them as often, Pat got emotional when people she hadn't seen in years came through the door of the showroom on Northeast 88th Avenue and Sandy Boulevard.

Nearly 60 years old, the venerable Parkrose remodeling firm is family-owned and operated by father and son Charles “Buck” and Ron Best, who both hold their longtime employee and friend in high regard.

“We're sure going to miss her,” said the elder Best. “She made sure the guys all got treated right, and the customers got treated right … she made sure.” He added, “Anybody called in something wrong, SHE-MADE-SURE someone was aware.”

Ron Best echoed his father's sentiments, “Pat's positive attitude, the way she found solutions to every problem and her reliability made coming to work a joy; she's just a steadfast player.”

Over time, not only did Pat's competence, common sense and sense of humor inspire confidence in her male co-workers, but it also garnered their respect, crucial for a woman in the male-dominated building and construction industry. As the bridge between customer and construction crews, she played an essential role. “She scolded the guys when they deserved it, but boy, they loved knowing their checks were there when they came in,” said the elder Best. “No lingering around, and that's the great thing for a workman. When it's payday, they say … 'Where's my money?'”

Pat's position requires a sense of humor, according to Best. “That makes a lot of difference when you're running a business,” he said. “A lot of calls come in during the day. You have to roll with the punches without getting too upset. When you've got five or six jobs going at once and a lot of tradesman involved, there's a lot of questions that come up.”

Pat's jocular disposition, combined with her strong work ethic and patient, friendly manner, served her well. At its essence, she played the role of a Little League “Team Mom” for the cohort of overwhelmingly male carpenters, sheet rockers, electricians, laborers, masons and plumbers.

CHI Designer Mark Livesay is as favorably impressed with Pat's charm and ability as the Bests are. “It's been 17 really great years,” he said. “It's a crack-up; she's fun to be around every day. She's got the greatest sense of humor ever … especially for a Catholic; you can't print that though,” he said with a chuckle. “She is the sharpest tool in the shed.”

Livesay also agrees Pat was a Mom figure at CHI, helping his brother though issues after their mother passed away. “She's helped raise a whole bunch of the guys. Pat is just kinda that person; she really looks out for the guys.”

Livesay also noted Pat's remarkable customer service skills and aplomb handling the phones for such a busy place.

“We do big volume down there,” he said. “But, she always handled it.” He added, “One of the best things I remember about Pat is the way she handled the phones. All the lines could be going off, and she'd just very calmly pick up the phone and say 'City Home Improvement, could you please hold for a second?' And just go back to the calls and rotate through them. Pat was so smooth on it. I've never seen anybody be able to handle the phones calmly and get everything right. It was pretty cool.” He attributes the skill to her previous employment at the Portland Airbase. “I think she learned that when she was working at the airbase for the colonel.

It is not as if the company is bereft without Pat. South African native Amanda Trent, who has been working side-by-side with Pat at CHI for four years, has spent her entire career in the building industry. “The things I learned from her I can't repeat,” Trent said with a laugh, “You couldn't find anybody better than Pat,' said Ron Best, but Amanda's her equal. I've been lucky to get some really great, great folks in there.”

Longtime CHI customer Jim Thomas loves Pat too. “She was our little darling over there at City Home,” he said. “Anytime we had any problems or needed any kind of service, we went to Pat first; she got the job done.” Thomas who, over the last 20 years, has had his whole house remodeled by CHI, added, “Whenever I would make my payment, I made sure Pat was there when I came down to make my payment so I could talk to her.”

Pat's a gold-miner's daughter
Pat moved to Portland when she was 18, after getting her mother's permission to live with her older sister, who made the move to earlier. “My mother said 'All right, but you're going to live with your sister for a while,' so I did,” she said.

Within a week of her arrival, Pat, a gold miner's daughter from South Dakota, had surveyed the employment terrain, prospected some choices, and dug up a job working at the Portland Airbase for the Oregon Air National Guard-the first female civilian employee ever hired there. “The gal that hired me through the state told me, 'You're so lucky, you get to go-and it's all men down there-you're so lucky' … but what she didn't tell me was they were all married!”

The job posted as a nine-month temporary position; however, with her ineffable charm and reputation for sedulous work spreading over the base like a mist, it became permanent. In addition, it turns out they weren't all married. “I got one of 'em that wasn't,” Pat said with a chuckle. She worked at the airbase seven years where she met and married Lt. Colonel Ray Dragowsky, and then left to rear their two adopted children in a Russell neighborhood home they bought in 1956 originally built for the base chaplain.

Pat has two children and three grandchildren.

Retirement plans
Pat said that since her husband passed away in 2009, “The saddest day of my life,” her retirement plans changed. “My neighbor, who is retired, keeps telling me 'You have to have a purpose Pat; you have to have a purpose,'” she said. “And I do have a purpose.” She said she is modeling her future behavior on two television characters, Mrs. Kravitz and the Church Lady. The former, a nosy neighbor from the 60s television show “Bewitched”, and the latter a recurring character from 1986-1990 on Saturday Night Live.

“I'm going to take a page out of my friend's book and become the church lady [at St. Rita Catholic Church]. I have not been able to work at the church, and I'm going to be putting my time in there and become the church lady.” After a pause for effect she repeated, “I am.”

She said because her home was built for the base chaplain and has the big cathedral windows, she can see a lot that goes on. “Well, you can. I can see out, you see. I see everything.”

We believe you do Pat.
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