Patrick F. McManus

• Born: August 25, 1933
• Birthplace: Sandpoint, Idaho
• Died: April 11, 2018
• Place of death: Spokane, Washington

Biography

Patrick Francis McManus was born on August 25, 1933, in Sandpoint, Idaho, one of two children. His father, Francis Edward McManus, worked in a sawmill, and his mother, Mabel Klaus McManus, was an elementary school teacher in a primitive rural school. His father died when McManus was six years old. From childhood, McManus liked being outdoors, hunting, fishing, camping, and canoeing with his friends, and these adventures would provide material for his later writing. During summers and after graduating from high school he worked construction jobs, helping to build dams and hoping to save enough money to attend college.

McManus enrolled at Washington State College (later Washington State University) in 1952 and took a freshman composition course that showed him for the first time the challenges and rewards of writing. Deciding to become a writer, he took several writing courses and contributed to the college’s newspaper and literary magazine. He married Darlene Keough, a business manager, in 1954. The couple had four daughters: Kelly, Shannon, Peggy, and Erin.

After McManus graduated from college in 1956, he took a job as a news reporter for the Daily Olympian in Olympia, Washington. Several months later, he became an editor and writer for the publications office at Washington State University and was able to complete a master’s degree at the same time. In 1962, he began teaching at Eastern Washington University in Cheney. Over the next two decades he taught and directed programs in English and journalism at the university, eventually being named a full professor of English and journalism before he retired from teaching in 1983.

Alongside his teaching career, McManus wrote magazine articles and edited outdoor magazines. His earliest articles were factual pieces, many about topics relating to the outdoors, but in 1968 he began writing humorous articles. From 1976 to 1981, he was an associate editor at Field and Stream, regularly contributing humorous pieces to the magazine. In 1981, he became editor at large at Outdoor Life.

McManus's first book, A Fine and Pleasant Misery, was a collection of previously published short pieces. A book of humor for readers of all ages, it celebrates the old-fashioned struggles of camping before modern inventions made the outdoors safer and more convenient. The next year he published a book for young adults, Kid Camping from Aaaaiii! to Zip, a blending of humorous anecdotes and practical advice. A Fine and Pleasant Misery and Kid Camping from Aaaaiii! to Zip were well-received, and McManus quickly became one of the best-selling American humorists of his generation, writing books that appealed to general audiences of all ages, and especially those interested in outdoor recreation. He also continued to write books specifically aimed at young adults, including The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw and The Bear in the Attic, and even collaborated with his sister on a cookbook, Whatchagot Stew (1989).

McManus was best known for telling humorous stories about believable characters. His character Pat was based on McManus himself as a child, and many of his other recurring characters were similarly based on his family and friends. His willingness to poke fun at himself and his friends contributed to his easy-to-read style and popular appeal. His books earned him a spot on the New York Times Best Sellers list, with well over five million copies sold. Beginning in 1992 McManus also developed several of his comedy stories in one-man stage plays, which for many years were performed by his friend and collaborator Tim Behrens. Among his other works was The Deer on a Bicycle: Excursions into the Writing of Humor (2000).

In 2006, McManus published The Blight Way, the first in a series of mystery novels featuring Sheriff Bo Tully. The series, while still humorous, had a somewhat darker tone than his other works. It concluded with Circles in the Snow (2014). McManus also pursued an interest in painting, focusing on watercolor art.

McManus ended his long-running Outdoor Life humor column in 2009. A final book collecting his humor writing, The Horse in My Garage and Other Stories, appeared in 2012. In 2013 he was awarded Eastern Washington State College's Distinguished Faculty Award as professor emeritus. McManus's health declined later in life, and he eventually moved to a nursing home in Spokane, Washington. He died there at the age of eighty-four on April 11, 2018.

Bibliography

Case, Larry. "The Trail Less Traveled: Thanks for the Stories and the Laughter, Patrick McManus." Daily Citizen-News, 10 May 2018,www.dailycitizen.news/sports/local‗sports/the-trail-less-traveled-thanks-for-the-stories-and-the/article‗55a82b6c-0580-54bd-b65f-a805709f553f.html. Accessed 26 Nov. 2018.

Hunt, Chris. "Voices From the River: Losing Patrick F. McManus." Trout Unlimited, 13 Apr. 2018, www.tu.org/blog-posts/voices-from-the-river-losing-patrick-f-mcmanus. Accessed 26 Nov. 2018.

Lamberson, Carolyn. "Beloved Humor Writer Patrick McManus Dies at Age 84." The Spokesman-Review, 13 Apr. 2018,www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/apr/13/beloved-humor-writer-patrick-mcmanus-dies-age-84/. Accessed 26 Nov. 2018.

Liere, Alan. "Funny Thing About Pat McManus. . ." Outdoor Writers Association of America, owaa.org/owaa-legends/funny-thing-about-pat-mcmanus/. Accessed 26 Nov. 2018.

McManus, Patrick. Interview by Billie Jean Plaster. Sandpoint Magazine, Summer 1995,www.sandpointonline.com/sandpointmag/sms95/PatrickMcManus.html. Accessed 26 Nov. 2018.

Ridler, Keith. "Outdoors Humor Columnist Patrick F. McManus Dies at 84." US News & World Report, 13 Apr. 2018,www.usnews.com/news/entertainment/articles/2018-04-13/outdoors-humor-columnist-patrick-f-mcmanus-dies-at-84. Accessed 26 Nov. 2018.