Joel Pritchard
Joel Pritchard | |
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14thLieutenant Governor of Washington | |
In office January 11, 1989 – January 15, 1997 | |
Governor | Booth Gardner Mike Lowry |
Preceded by | John Cherberg |
Succeeded by | Brad Owen |
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromWashington's1stdistrict | |
In office January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1985 | |
Preceded by | Thomas Pelly |
Succeeded by | John Miller |
Member of theWashington Senate from the36thdistrict | |
In office January 9, 1967 – January 11, 1971 | |
Preceded by | Charles Moriarty |
Succeeded by | John S. Murray |
Member of theWashington House of Representatives from the36thdistrict | |
In office January 12, 1959 – January 9, 1967 | |
Preceded by | Gladys Kirk |
Succeeded by | John S. Murray |
Personal details | |
Born | Joel McFee Pritchard May 5, 1925 Seattle,Washington,U.S. |
Died | October 9, 1997 Olympia, Washington,U.S. | (aged 72)
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Joan Sutton |
Children | 4 |
Education | Marietta College |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Army |
Years of service | 1944–1946 |
Rank | Sergeant |
Battles/wars | World 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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]- 1992 general election for Lieutenant Governor of Washington[6]
- Joel Pritchard (R) (inc.), 1,072,968
- Richard Kelley(D), 862,063
- Absolutely Nobody(IC), 148,021[7]
- Tom Isenberg(L), 75,933
- 1988 general election for Lieutenant Governor of Washington
- Joel Pritchard (R), 960,655
- George Fleming(D), 839,593
- 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
- Joel Pritchard (R) (inc.), 99,942
- Janice Niemi(D), 52,706
- 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
- Joel Pritchard (R) (inc.), 108,391
- Will Knedlik(D), 44,655
- 1972 general election for U.S. House of Representatives
- Joel Pritchard (R), 107,581
- John Hempleman(D), 104,959
- Craig Honts(SW), 1,401
References
[edit]- ^"Archives West: Results".archiveswest.orbiscascade.org.Archived fromthe originalon October 29, 2020.RetrievedOctober 26,2020.
- ^"Joel M. Pritchard: An Oral History"(PDF).
- ^"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.
- ^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.
- ^"Joel Pritchard: A Legacy Of Selfless Public Service | The Seattle Times".archive.seattletimes.com.
- ^"Election Search Results - Elections & Voting - WA Secretary of State".www.sos.wa.gov.
- ^Egan, Timothy (July 9, 1992)."Washington State Journal; Where Nobody Is Absolutely Real (Published 1992)".The New York Times– via NYTimes.com.
External links
[edit]- 1925 births
- 1997 deaths
- 20th-century American businesspeople
- 20th-century American legislators
- American people of Welsh descent
- Creators of sports
- Lieutenant governors of Washington (state)
- Marietta College alumni
- Republican Party members of the Washington House of Representatives
- Military personnel from Seattle
- Politicians from Seattle
- Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Washington (state)
- United States Army soldiers
- Republican Party Washington (state) state senators
- Pickleball
- Sports inventors and innovators
- 20th-century Washington (state) politicians