Pat O'Rourke

Pat Francis O'Rourke (August 27, 1942 – July 3, 2001) was an American businessman and politician based in El Paso, Texas. He is the father of politician Beto O'Rourke.

Pat O'Rourke
County Judge of El Paso County
In office
1982–1986
Preceded byUdell Moore
Succeeded byLuther Jones
Member of the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners
from Precinct 4
In office
1978–1982
Preceded byChuck Mattox
Succeeded byMary Haynes
Personal details
Born(1942-08-27)August 27, 1942
El Paso, Texas, U.S.
DiedJuly 3, 2001(2001-07-03) (aged 58)
Santa Teresa, New Mexico, U.S.
Resting placeMemory Gardens of the Valley[1]
Sunland Park, New Mexico
Political partyRepublican
Other political
affiliations		Democratic (formerly)
Spouse(s)
Gail McNutt
​
​
(m. 1964; div. 1966)​

Melissa Williams
​
(m. 1971)​
Children3 (including Beto O'Rourke)
EducationUniversity of Texas, El Paso (BS)
OccupationRealtor

Early life and education

O'Rourke was born at El Paso's old Southwestern General Hospital, the only son of Mildred Rowena (née Jasper) and John Francis "Frank" O'Rourke, a former baseball player and then manager of the public relations department at Reynolds Electrical and Engineering Company (REECO).[2][3][4] He had a half-sister from his mother's previous marriage. His great-grandfather, Bernard O'Rourke, was an Irish Catholic railway worker originally from Glencar, County Leitrim and naturalized as an American citizen in 1868.[5][6][7][8] His first name on his birth certificate was Pat and not Patrick.[9]

He attended Davy Crocket Elementary School and Austin High School before graduating from New Mexico Military Institute. He got his undergraduate degree at Texas Western University (now University of Texas at El Paso) and took courses at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Career

By age 25, both of O'Rourke's parents were deceased. His first forays into politics were greatly aided by his uncle, Raymond O'Rourke, head jailer for El Paso County who ultimately held that position for 30 years.[10]

O'Rourke lost his first two races, for a seat on the El Paso Community College Board of Trustees in 1972 and for a seat on the El Paso Community College Board of Trustees in 1976. A friend described him as unmistakably Irish American and he suspected it would used against him in the mostly Mexican American electorate so he embraced it by campaigning on March 17, 1978, Saint Patrick's Day, dressed up as a leprechaun.[4] Also on March 17, 1978 he gathered friends to jog along Trans Mountain Road, an idea that evolved into the annual Trans Mountain 20-kilometer challenge each Saint Patrick's Day.

From 1978 to 1982, he served as El Paso County commissioner and then from 1982 to 1986 served as El Paso County judge. O'Rourke and El Paso Mayor Jonathan Rogers worked to consolidate some of the governments' services to try to save taxpayer money. O'Rourke did not seek re-election saying publicly among other reasons, his wife and family did not wish him to run again.

In February 1983 while O'Rourke was out of state on vacation, El Paso County Sheriff's deputies were installing a two-way radio in O'Rourke's vehicle discovered a tied condom containing an off-white powder they believed to be either cocaine or heroin. A sheriff's captain ordered the substance destroyed. The incident did not come to light to both O'Rourke and the public until months later. In October 1983, the captain was indicted by a grand jury on charges of official misconduct and tampering with evidence. O'Rourke and the sheriff's captain said they believed the powder had been put into O'Rourke's vehicle by one of O'Rourke's political enemies.

From October 1983 to November 1986, he served on the Texas Jails Standards Commission. O'Rourke served as state co-chairman for Jesse Jackson during Jackson's 1988 bid in the Democratic presidential primary having also supported Jackson's 1984 presidential campaign. "I like the guy. He's entertaining, and he has some magic in him," O'Rourke explained a few years later. "Jesse brought more people into the voting booth, and I don't care who you are -- the more people that vote, the better off this country is."

After O'Rourke switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican citing his belief Democratic Party had lost touch with financial responsibility, he campaigned to for the Republican nomination for the United States House of Representatives. He was defeated in the primary runoff by Chip Taberski in April 1992. In 1996, he was a candidate for county tax assessor-collector and in 1998 he was Republican candidate for county judge, but he was unsuccessful in both races.[11]

Death

On July 3, 2001, O'Rourke, a longtime cycling enthusiast, died while riding his bicycle along the shoulder of Pete Domenici Highway just outside the city limits of El Paso about 30 feet (9.1 m) across the New Mexico state line when he was struck from behind by a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am throwing him 70 feet (21 m) causing severe head injuries; he was pronounced dead at the scene. No charges were filed against the driver in connection with O'Rourke's death, but he was arrested for an outstanding warrant for failure to appear in court for a suspended license citation.[11] O'Rourke's son Beto delivered the eulogy during the funeral service at Saint Patrick's Cathedral.[11][12][13]

References
  1. Pat Francis O'Rourke at Find a Grave
  2. "Frank O'Rourke, Parent Of Son". El Paso Times. August 30, 1942. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  3. "In Your Neighborhood". El Paso Herald-Post. July 12, 1955. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  4. Bailey, Holly (October 2, 2018). "Like Ted Cruz, Beto O'Rourke had a fiery, charismatic father. The similarities end there". Yahoo News. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  5. "Death of Bernard O'Rourke". The Catholic Tribune. State Historical Society of Missouri. September 5, 1896. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  6. "Naturalization Records, 1816 - 1955". Missouri Digital Heritage. Missouri Secretary of State. October 3, 1868. Retrieved June 8, 2019. Buchanan County Circuit Court, Final Certificate of Naturalization: O'Rourke, Bernard
  7. O'Rourke, Beto (November 12, 2018). "Henry at the culmination of a weekend long research project on the first of our family to come over from Ireland, Bernard O'Rourke (naturalized in 1868). Here he is dressed as Bernard as we could get". Instagram. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  8. "Invite Beto O'Rourke to visit his ancestral home in Glencar says Cllr Felim Gurn". Leitrim Observer. April 17, 2019. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  9. "Pat Francis Orourke, 27 August 1972; from "Texas Birth Index, 1903–1997"". FamilySearch. Texas Department of State Health Services. December 5, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  10. "38-year county jailer Raymond O'Rourke dies Sunday at 75". El Paso Times. May 22, 1984. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  11. Crowder, David (July 4, 2001). "Political risk-taker died doing what he loved". El Paso Times. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  12. Cruz, Laura (July 7, 2001). "Friends, family say goodbye to O'Rourke". El Paso Times. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  13. Bieri, Kate (July 9, 2017). "El Paso bike trail named after late county judge Pat O'Rourke". KVIA ABC-7 News. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
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