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Joel Pritchard

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Joel Pritchard
14thLieutenant Governor of Washington
In office
January 11, 1989 – January 15, 1997
GovernorBooth Gardner
Mike Lowry
Preceded byJohn Cherberg
Succeeded byBrad Owen
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives
fromWashington's1stdistrict
In office
January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1985
Preceded byThomas Pelly
Succeeded byJohn Miller
Member of theWashington Senate
from the36thdistrict
In office
January 9, 1967 – January 11, 1971
Preceded byCharles Moriarty
Succeeded byJohn S. Murray
Member of theWashington House of Representatives
from the36thdistrict
In office
January 12, 1959 – January 9, 1967
Preceded byGladys Kirk
Succeeded byJohn S. Murray
Personal details
Born
Joel McFee Pritchard

(1925-05-05)May 5, 1925
Seattle,Washington,U.S.
DiedOctober 9, 1997(1997-10-09)(aged 72)
Olympia, Washington,U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseJoan Sutton
Children4
EducationMarietta College
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Years of service1944–1946
RankSergeant
Battles/warsWorld War II

Joel McFee Pritchard(May 5, 1925 – October 9, 1997) was an American businessman and politician who served in theU.S. House of Representativesand as the 14thLieutenant Governor of Washingtonas a member of theRepublican Party.Pritchard also invented the game ofpickleball,along with two friends, in 1965.

Political career

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Pritchard was a delegate to theRepublican National Conventionin 1956 that renominatedDwight D. Eisenhowerfor the presidency.

He was elected to theWashington House of Representativesrepresenting Washington's thirty-sixth district in 1958, where he served from 1959 to 1967, being reelected in 1960, 1962 and 1964. In the state house, he worked closely with futureU.S. SenatorsDaniel J. EvansandSlade Gorton.

In 1966, he was elected to theWashington State Senate,where he served a single term from 1967 to 1971. In 1970 Pritchard, a member of Washington Citizens for Abortion Reform (WCAR), introduced a bill allowing abortions in the first four months of pregnancy; it was approved and went to the voters as Referendum 20. The measure was approved statewide by voters in November 1970, making Washington the first state to in which abortion was legalized by a popular vote.[1]

In 1970, Pritchard ran for theU.S. House of Representativesto representWashington's first district,challenging nine-term incumbentThomas Pellyin the Republican primary. Pelly was renominated, but by a smaller margin than anyone expected.[2]

In 1972, Pelly retired and Pritchard ran for theU.S. House of Representativesagain, this time successfully, defeating opponents John Hempleman and Craig Honts in a closely contested election. He was easily reelected in 1974, 1976, 1978, 1980 and 1982, serving from 1973 to 1985. He chose not to run for reelection in 1984.

In 1988, he made a successful run forLieutenant Governor of Washington,becoming president of the Washington Senate. He was reelected in 1992, serving from 1989 to 1997.

Personal life

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Pritchard was the second son of Frank and Jean (McFee) Pritchard. He was born on May 5, 1925, inSeattle,Washington, where he attend public schools, and graduated fromQueen Anne High Schoolin June 1944.[3]

At the rank ofSergeant,he served in theUnited States Armyfrom 1944 to 1946. After leaving the service, he attendedMarietta Collegein Ohio from 1946 to 1947. He worked for the Griffin Envelope Company in Seattle from 1948 to 1971 where he became president of the company.

In 1965, while serving in the Washington State Senate, Pritchard, along with friends Bill Bell and Barney McCallum, invented the game ofpickleballat his summer home onBainbridge Island,Washington.[4]

After the end of his second term as Lieutenant Governor, Pritchard went into retirement and became a board member ofTVW,thestate of Washington's public affairs network. He died on October 9, 1997, inOlympia, Washington,oflymphoma.[5]

Electoral history

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  • 1992 general election for Lieutenant Governor of Washington[6]
  • 1988 general election for Lieutenant Governor of Washington
  • 1982 general election for U.S. House of Representatives
    • Joel Pritchard (R) (inc.), 123,956
    • Brian Long(D), 59,444
  • 1980 general election for U.S. House of Representatives
    • Joel Pritchard (R) (inc.), 180,475
    • Robin Drake (D), 41,830
  • 1978 general election for U.S. House of Representatives
  • 1976 general election for U.S. House of Representatives
    • Joel Pritchard (R) (inc.), 161,354
    • Dave Wood(D), 58,006
  • 1974 general election for U.S. House of Representatives
  • 1972 general election for U.S. House of Representatives

References

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  1. ^"Archives West: Results".archiveswest.orbiscascade.org.Archived fromthe originalon October 29, 2020.RetrievedOctober 26,2020.
  2. ^"Joel M. Pritchard: An Oral History"(PDF).
  3. ^"QUEEN ANNE HIGH SCHOOL; FIFTY-NINTH HIGH SCHOOL COMMENCEMENT SEATTLE, WASHINGTON * JUNE, 1944"(PDF).Queen Anne Alumni Association.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on May 20, 2022.RetrievedMay 20,2022.
  4. ^Lyons, Gil (August 24, 1990)."Pickle-ball: Founders of game say paddle sport simply is a barrel of fun".The Seattle Times. Archived fromthe originalon March 27, 2022.RetrievedJanuary 25,2020.
  5. ^"Joel Pritchard: A Legacy Of Selfless Public Service | The Seattle Times".archive.seattletimes.com.
  6. ^"Election Search Results - Elections & Voting - WA Secretary of State".www.sos.wa.gov.
  7. ^Egan, Timothy (July 9, 1992)."Washington State Journal; Where Nobody Is Absolutely Real (Published 1992)".The New York Times– via NYTimes.com.
[edit]
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of theU.S. House of Representatives
fromWashington's 1st congressional district
1973–1985 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Lieutenant Governor of Washington
1989–1997 		Succeeded by
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