Pat’s journey began in the small town of Yakima, Washington, near the Yakama Indian Reservation. Growing up with three sisters, he was surrounded by the love and support of his family. His mother, a dedicated teacher, and his father, a committed lawyer, instilled in him the values of education and justice.

Growing up in the 1950s, Pat witnessed the immense cultural divide between the Native grandmas he would see in town who wore bandanas and wing dresses, and his own comfortable middle-class upbringing. He recognized early on how separation of language and culture made prejudice commonplace. These early experiences shaped his understanding of the world and fueled his desire to bridge cultural divides.

He graduated from Marquette High School, then entered the Jesuit novitiate in Sheridan, Oregon. He earned his B.A. in English and his M.A. in English literature from Gonzaga University, followed by a Master of Divinity degree from Regis College at the University of Toronto.

After ordination, while serving as the Director of campus ministry at Gonzaga, he spent the summer on the Colville Reservation. This visit was a turning point in his life. In 1972, he moved to Colville, where he began his lifelong mission of service and advocacy to both the interior Salish at Colville and the Puget Coast Salish people.