Novato

With heavy hearts we announce the passing of Jack Padrick, our beloved husband, father, grandfather and best friend, on August 13, 2024. Jack was born April 2, 1929 in Centralia, Washington and was the last of five children.

His father died when he was five years old at the height of the Great Depression leaving his mother penniless. His maternal and paternal grandparents had come West— one in a covered wagon and one around the Cape Horn— which accounted for his mother’s "true grit" in not ever taking any help from anyone financially and raising her two young boys (the three older siblings were already grown) by herself taking any job she could do to support them. This "true grit" was passed on to Jack and, at a young age, he picked berries and sold them door to door, continuing on with anything else that could help his mother and brother survive.

He excelled at his school work and in athletics having been the Washington state high jump champion while always having a job after school. While working his way through college, he graduated cum laude from Washington State having been president of his fraternity, Lambda Chi. He went on to get his law degree at George Washington University (Washington, D.C.) graduating eighth in his class of 101 students. He continued on at McGill University graduate school of law in Canada doing postgraduate studies in international air law and attended Harvard University graduate school of business. He was admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court, the Bar of California, the Bar of the District of Columbia, the U.S. Tax Court, and the Bar of Washington State.

He served as a Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer with honors in the U.S. Air Force. He went on to serve in the CIA and traveled internationally all over the world having audiences with kings and princes including the crown prince of Japan. In 1961, he married Bonnie Conklin in the Georgetown Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C.

They were later blessed with two beautiful daughters, Sheryl and Stacey.

Jack went on to become a Presidential appointee at the sub-cabinet level for two Presidents with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, serving as Federal Chairman of the Pacific Northwest Regional Commission. He was awarded the Presidential Improvement Award. He also had been previously inducted into Who's Who in the West.

His position allowed him a 21 gun salute anytime he boarded a U.S. battleship, seats in the President’s box at the Kennedy Center, and various invitations to social events at the White House. After he decided to return to the West, he became the Western Regional Counsel for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. He then became a registered financial advisor and president of Kinsman Associates where he gave financial seminars, wrote over 100 published articles on real estate, taxes, and investments and was General Partner of 11 Real Estate Limited Partnerships.

His love of tennis was legendary, and he played many years at the Marin Tennis Club and at the Marin Country Club, playing until he was 90years old when aback injury brought his passion to a close. He traveled the world with Bonnie with his fondest memories of those being when they began their travels on a budget forcing them to see the real and authentic side of the countries they visited in the days before the whole world traveled and before many countries became westernized. Above all he was a family man and was never happier or more at peace than when with his family, either at family gatherings at home or on family vacations. He is survived by his wife Bonnie, daughter Sheryl Riedel (Rob), Stacey Thompson (Eric), grandchildren Keller Riedel, Audrey Riedel, Caitlin Grace Thompson, niece Kim Moorehead, and nephew Kerry Padrick. A celebration of life was private.

There will never be another like you, dear Jack. Your smile, respect, and kindness to all you ever met cannot be duplicated. You were a vanishing breed. We miss you terribly and will love you forever. Rest in peace, our beloved.