Patrick Parkinson

Patrick Ryan Parkinson

August 2, 1973 ~ October 10, 2016

We lost our beautiful son, Patrick Ryan Parkinson, 43, to a heart attack, on October 10, 2016, and our hearts will be forever broken. Pat was born on Thursday, August 2, 1973, in Ogden, to Scott and Pam Parkinson. He was a brother to two, an uncle to four, and a friend to the world. Pat was raised in Washington Terrace and was adamant there was no better place! Later in life he would drive through the old neighborhood and could tell a story about every house. He graduated from Bonneville High and later from Weber State University with a B.S. in Communication/Journalism.

Pat began his professional life in the 90s as a bike messenger in Seattle where he scaled and dropped hills on his fixie. He got his break in journalism as a cub reporter at the Standard Examiner but quickly moved on to the job that defined his adult life: county reporter at The Park Record newspaper in Park City. For nine years Pat worked the Summit County beat reporting on the intense growth, business intrigues and political changes of the period. He was lead reporter on many critical Summit County elections. Pat had a passion for community journalism and was fiercely loyal to the paper and his colleagues. He both irritated and inspired them and was always looking for ways to champion the underserved by challenging local authorities! Pat won several awards during his time at The Park Record, including a Utah Press Association award for Best Breaking news story. His coverage of the sale of Wolf Mountain to American Skiing Company also helped propel The Park Record to a Utah Press Association General Excellence Award as top Utah newspaper in its circulation category. Pat's greatest contributions to the paper, however, were behind the scenes as he egged on his coworkers, reminding them of their duty to speak truth to power and hold elected officials accountable. He believed everything should be as transparent as possible. He wanted sources and confirmation. He wanted the facts!

In 2010 Pat left The Park Record to start a career in marketing and PR. He played a vital role at PRMarketing.com and Virtel Marketing before moving to San Francisco to help his brother grow his startup, Post Planner. His work there resulted in massive growth for the company. In 2015, Pat moved back to Utah to help start Content Hook (a digital marketing agency under Utah Media Group) as the VP of client services. His passion, hard work, loyalty, and ethics were well respected among coworkers and clients. He was a mentor to many and a respected member of the digital marketing community from Utah to California and beyond. Clients followed Pat wherever he went because they knew he cared for them personally and would do his best to get them results. In between these work experiences, Pat also laboured as a bike mechanic in Cape Cod, retrieved diamonds from mines in Liberia, rode UN helicopters into Sierra Leone to interview amputee survivors, and reported on humanitarian projects across West Africa. Pat was always an advocate for the less fortunate. No one had a bigger heart!

Pat loved music, especially when it carried a message. The sound and culture of his favorite bands shaped his personality, and he shared the music he loved with everyone he knew. He was a music store junkie and would spend hours at Graywhale in Ogden, making friends, discussing bands and sampling music. But he lived for live shows, where his passion became contagious. His dancing and singing infected the crowd around him, even if they couldn’t match his frenzy.

Pat loved seeing the world, biking, snowboarding, surfing, climbing, and seeking out adventure. When Pat traveled (and he traveled a lot), he would immerse himself in the gritty side of urban life. He didn’t care for tourist attractions; he wanted to experience the banality of human existence. He longed for hardship — to put himself into the jaws of the beast. Maybe he felt a debt to society because he had such a loving family and privileged existence while the majority of people suffered in ways that disgusted him. He struggled with that. Maybe we all do in a way.

Pat transcended cliques and crowds. He was an ally to everyone, even homeless people living in his neighborhood. He knew their stories and struggles because he took the time to ask them while everyone else ignored them. He was always for the underdog, the sufferer, the downtrodden, the disadvantaged. He wanted justice. He wanted a just world and did what he could to make it so.

He is survived by his parents, his siblings, Joshua (Eloise) Parkinson and Nicholas (Ignacia) Parkinson; and nieces and nephews, Leonard, Elisa, Helene, and Lucia.

A celebration of Pat’s life will be held on Saturday, October 15, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. at the Weber State University Alumni Center, 1235 E 4100 S, Ogden.  Friends may visit with family on Saturday from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the Alumni Center.  Services entrusted to Lindquist’s Ogden Mortuary.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the “Patrick R. Parkinson Scholarship Endowment for Journalism” at Weber State University.  Donate by typing the fund name into “Other Areas of Support > Other Instructions” at: www.weber.edu/give