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16 Facts About Pat Whiting

1.

Pat Whiting was a community activist and a member of a number of organizations until her death due to lymphoma.

2.

Pat Whiting was the eldest child of eight children, born into a migrant farmworker family.

3.

When Pat Whiting was 10, she and her mother moved to Gilroy, California, where Pat Whiting graduated from high school in 1959.

4.

Pat Whiting attended San Jose State College, completed graduate work at Oregon State University and received a master's degree from Lewis and Clark College in Public Administration.

5.

Pat Whiting was the only member from Metzger and the first Democratic woman from Washington County, Oregon to serve as well as the only Asian American elected to the House.

6.

Pat Whiting was a member of the Interim Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment and Energy, the Land Conservation and Development Commission and civilian representative to the Solid Waste Advisory Committee in Washington County.

7.

Pat Whiting co-sponsored legislation to ban smoking tobacco products in public places, the first of its kind in Oregon.

8.

Pat Whiting was a co-sponsor of the Oregon Bottle Bill, an effort intended to curb litter and pollution that first passed in 1971.

9.

Pat Whiting co-sponsored legislation to establish Project Independence, a program that helps senior citizens age in place and maintain their autonomy.

10.

Pat Whiting wrote and helped to pass legislation that banned chlorofluorocarbon pollution that contributes to the depletion of the earth's stratospheric ozone layer, the first such legislation in the country.

11.

Pat Whiting appeared on the Today Show in defense of the ban on chlorofluorocarbons.

12.

Pat Whiting stated concern for the flood plain, urban sprawl, public transportation, congestion and population density, and the environmental toll of increased resource consumption.

13.

Pat Whiting, who "rose out of poverty as a migrant worker," believed in advancing personal and professional opportunities for women.

14.

Pat Whiting advocated for the preservation of and investment in Metzger Park.

15.

Pat Whiting served as a board member for the Washington County Community Action poverty program.

16.

Pat Whiting is survived by her husband, Vince, as well as seven siblings, Connie Melanson, Elyse Cotant, George, Mason, Masao Jim and Morton Uyeda, and Leon Castillo.