The sudden passing of longtime Healdsburg High School educator and football coach Pat McDowell is being mourned by all that knew him, following the news of his death last week.
A Greyhound through and through, McDowell starred for the HHS football team in the early 1980s before going on to a long teaching and coaching career at the school in the decades that followed.
Known as a gentle giant who got the most from his students and players, McDowell believed that anything was possible with hard work and preparation.
“The news of Pat’s death was a gut punch and a huge shock,” longtime football coach and close friend Mike Ruiz said. “Over the years I spent more time with him than I did my own family. He was a great teacher both in the classroom and on the field.”
McDowell coached the offensive and defensive lines for the Hounds under former head coach Tom Kirkpatrick, a golden age of football that produced several league titles and yearly trips to the North Coast Section playoffs. During McDowell’s 15-year run as coach, the Greyhounds established a reputation for outstanding line play, often dominating much bigger opponents with superior skill and technique.
“Pat believed in putting the ball in your best player’s hands and running behind your best lineman,” Ruiz recalled. “In my opinion he was the best line coach in the Redwood Empire.”
A memorial service is being planned but no announcement has been made.
