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January 17, 2012 in Sports
Beloved Shadle, Rogers coach eulogized
Packed house celebrates life of legendary coach
Paton
(Full-size photo)
Jim Paton’s life was so fascinating and touched so many lives, that it could have been made into a movie.
And so it was, in a poignant video on the big screen Saturday during his memorial service before a packed audience in the Shadle Park High School performing arts theater.
He died Jan. 1 from the ravages of Parkinson’s disease that he lived with for some 30 years.
“Jim was a unique individual,” said Bud Norris, a two-sport athlete and his friend at Washington State University. Norris delivered the eulogy before the remarkably crafted video depicted the story of Paton’s life.
“He was known as an athlete, coach and mentor,” Norris said, “but mainly as a friend. I lost a piece of my own history.”
Paton was an All-City football fullback at Shadle Park, who went on to start three years as a lineman at WSU. He was named among the Cougars’ top 50 players by The Spokesman-Review in series in 1997 and played professionally for a time in the Canadian Football League.
But it would be his work as a coach, first at Shadle Park and later as head baseball coach at Rogers, that would become his legacy.
There were some 800 photos in the video that ended with a television documentary at Avista Stadium that juxtaposed his coaching while struggling with the disease that ultimately took his life at age 68.
The quality big-screen effort shown during his memorial was the product of former Community Colleges of Spokane baseball coach Keith Snyder.
The audience was transported through the decades to Paton’s 1943 birth year in the DeLorean time machine from “Back To The Future.”
What followed was the photographic biography of Paton’s life from infancy, through his honored athletic and coaching careers interspersed throughout with family memories.
“He was a very intense person,” Norris said. “Opponents were victims of his ‘charity.’ ”
Coaching baseball at Rogers, however, became a love affair. Paton taught more about succeeding in life than succeeding in baseball. He became a surrogate parent at a school where 60 percent of the students, said Norris, come from single-parent families.
He ran marathons to show players what they could accomplish.
Former Pirates player Steve Mauro said in an earlier conversation that it took years for him to realize the impact Paton had on him.
“He had me on a leash and I hated him,” Mauro said of his high school years.
They rekindled their relationship not too long ago.
Paton refurbished Forsyth Field at Rogers, sinking pipes underground to improve drainage and assure the team could play on rainy spring days. He taught the value of work.
Paton put together youth all-star traveling teams to places like Russia, Australia, France and to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Awards he received as a volunteer nationally and statewide are too numerous to mention.
“He made sure Rogers kids had the top equipment,” said Mike Schock, who was there near the end of Paton’s tenure. “He was a great ambassador for the game.”
At the conclusion of the memorial, those in the audience who had played for or coached with Paton were asked to come up on the stage. Some 70 did and kneeled in silent tribute.
“He was like our dad,” said Ron Brooks, who organized the memorial and is Shadle’s head baseball coach. “He pushed us and made us better people.”
His life was there on the big screen for all to see.
Mt. Spokane boys miss state title by two points 
Local on January 17 at 8:46 a.m.
Hey Seer, why don’t you contribute instead of criticise. Get off the sidelines and actually make a difference in someone’s life or do you prefer to tell others they could done a better job.
Spokanewaste on January 17 at 9:09 a.m.
Seer. I feel sorry for you. Criticizing the deceased and his eulogy says a lot about your character. Obviously, you are a miserable person that would never engender the outpouring of support this fine man received. Sorry you weren’t hugged as a child.
pmbrown49 on January 17 at 9:21 a.m.
The_Seer, I obviously don’t know you but I can tell you this:
If you have made a difference in only 1% of the high school students and athletes that Jim Paton did in 30+ years, then you are a great person. Jim was not a “stupid jock” turned teacher. He was never about personal gain and truly had the interests of students first. I cannot even imagine how many students “Pates” kept from dropping out of school, but it was certainly in the hundreds. He was the “dad” that many of his students never had.
Jim never asked anything more of you than to be the best you could be…and then he backed that up by helping you to be that best person.
You should really retract your comment and apologize for a man you obviously didn’t know and for the wisdom Spokane #81 had for hiring Coach (and Teacher!) Paton.
Nugget on January 17 at 9:38 a.m.
Seer is the typical blogger on this site that NEVER has a good thing to say about anyone. ALWAYS has the need to put people down or bash the local police for just breathing.
Sorry to see the coach pass on. My kids went to Shadle & always spoke kindly of him.
Dazzeetrader11 on January 17 at 11:12 a.m.
Mr Paton was my Dad’s friend. He meant so much to everyone who knew him. He’ll be missed. And example to children in trouble. Hard working and I remember him for his hearty laugh. He will be missed plenty. Old school type. I don’t think we’re making people like him anymore. HUGE man. A very good teacher.
Seer….grown a brain. Typical left wing liberal comment from the teacher’s union.
Dazzeetrader11 on January 17 at 11:48 a.m.
Seer says …..”Do that on your own time and let the Patons of the world find something to do other than ruin your kids and our schools”…
Classless as usual.
CougarGold on January 17 at 11:55 a.m.
Seer - I rarely ever agree with you and this time is no exception. I had Coach Paton as a gym coach/weightlifting coach through high school. I didn’t participate in organized sports and was not a jock.
I can tell you from personal experience that had he not involved himself with me at a formative stage of my life, I would have ended up in the wrong crowd and likely in jail or dead. He intervened through his personal caring and directing me toward activities other than drugs, drinking, etc. He had a larger impact on me and many more of my fellow students than any of the other teachers in that school. Only one other (math) teacher I had in 8th grade had any similar impact.
Your disrespect to a man and youth leader who did great things, passionately, and passed early is inexcusable. You are a complete discredit to your profession and to human empathy. You and your elitist friends are what’s wrong with society, not people like Jim Paton who clearly had positive impacts on our kids. Unbelievable; and sad.
Note_to_Self on January 17 at 12:45 p.m.
Seer must have been taped to the goal post as a kid.
I don’t have a dog in this fight because I didn’t know Mr. Paton, but in my experience a good coach/teacher can have a profound positive impact on a child’s life, especially those who don’t have it so good at home. (it can be disastrous as well - look at the Penn State situation). Sometimes I think our society places too much emphasis on athletic achievement, but sports have saved a lot of kids from the streets. I had some good teachers who were “jocks” and some bad ones and I can say the same for those who weren’t considered “jocks”.
Seer paints with too broad a brush and should have saved it for another conversation anyway. An amazing lack of empathy if you ask me. My condolences to the family of Mr. Paton.
The_Seer on January 17 at 1:34 p.m.
How many of you detractors penning your posts were at the service on Saturday?
I was. Paton and I are former colleagues so I possess much more firsthand knowledge than just about nayone who has posted here since. The “high-school Harry” jock culture is what is keeping the U.S. behind the rest of the world in education. Sports are basically imitations of war and violent behavior and should have no place whatsoever in a productive learning environment. P.E. yes. Organized sports, no.
Local on January 17 at 1:47 p.m.
Seer,
So going to the service makes it your comments acceptable? Nice try in attempting to divert the conversation. What I would like to know is, as a “colleague” of his, what contributions have you made? What do you do so well so I may hold you in such high esteem?
reservedparking on January 17 at 2:14 p.m.
I can only hope upon hope that none of my kids are ever cursed with the likes of Mr. Seer as a teacher.
The_Seer on January 17 at 2:47 p.m.
local: How many times was Paton his district teacher of the year?
I’ve won that award several times, in multiple districts. What about you?
Note_to_Self on January 17 at 2:48 p.m.
Sports in school are not the reason we are falling behind in education. I admit our priorities are a little out of wack when you see how much professional athletes and coaches earn compared to teachers, but less than 1% of high schoool athletes will make it to the big leagues.
The reason we are falling behind is because we have cut public education to the bone. Teachers are not paid adequately nor are they respected as they are in other countries. We will not get the best and brightest until that changes. Yes the unions need to change some things too -there has to be a way to get rid of bad teachers - but they are not entirely to blame. I don’t know the answer, but defunding public education will futher accelerate our drop to the bottom.
The_Seer on January 17 at 2:49 p.m.
reservedparking: Me too. That way I wouldn’t have to waste the time of other students correcting the nonsense you teach your children at home.
Have a nice day!
Al_Loysius on January 17 at 2:59 p.m.
For heavens sake, why are you guys arguing with a nutburger? You are just entertaining him.
Middleman on January 17 at 3:01 p.m.
“You go to school to learn the three r’s, not how to set a pick, throw a curveball or dominate in wrestling. Do that on your own time and let the Patons of the world find something to do other than ruin your kids and our schools.”
Hey Seer, since when do kids work on those skills during the school day? They all actually do do it on their own time. It’s called after school-activities. No doubt you ever gave any constructive/instructional guidance to young people after your day was officially over.
To set the record straight, there are less than effective teachers who also coach. There are also poor teachers that do nothing else except leave at 2:25 every day of the year. But, I will tell you from first hand knowledge, COACHES who are good teachers are often the BEST teachers. You know why? Because they have a sincere passion for everything they do and strive to help all students succeed to where they never knew they could. If you didn’t see this when you were teaching (if you really were a teacher wihich is highly debatable), then you would know I am right.
In my experiences, if ever there was a call for action on part of the community, faculty, neighborhood or students, the FIRST people that respond to the need are the COACHES!! Why, because they care, or they wouldn’t be coaches. It’s called PASSION!!!
If you truly knew Jim, you would know what a huge impact he had on the daily and future lives of hundreds (maybe thousands) of Spokane’s youth. And, if you truly witnessed his impact, you would not be on this blog slamming a great man with a huge legacy. You sir, are a poser and a pathetic miscreant of the worst kind. Crawl back into your hole, Troll.
Middleman on January 17 at 3:07 p.m.
Al_Loysius….you are right. My bad. I have a great passion for what I do. However, my father always told me not to cast pearls before swine. .I must apologize.
Local on January 17 at 3:16 p.m.
Seer you hide behind the anonymity of the internet. Until I know who you are I reserve the right to hold great scepticism of your accomplishments. Your comments can only be viewed as debate posturing.
hillyard on January 17 at 3:29 p.m.
I was there and was amazed with the 100 or so former ball players that showed up to honor their former coach ranging from 35 years old up to at least 53. Not to mention the other 250+ in attendance that was made up of parents, friends and other teachers.
Also in attendance was a Retired US Air Force Colonel, Retired Spokane Judge, and former member of the House of Representative George Nethercutt.
If a kid needed a job, they went to Mr. Paton and he found them a place to work. During the School year, During the Summertime, or sometimes just out at his house doing yard work on a Sunday.
It was neat to see the former Rogers Alums pay respect to the other former Pirate Leaders in attendance Ken Pelo, Daryl Squires, and Dave Pomante.
Paton and those other 3 gentlemen did as much off the field as they did on teaching boys how to be men.
CougarGold on January 17 at 4:18 p.m.
Seer - I have a hard time understanding how you could go to his service on Saturday then turn around here, as an anonymous poster, and degrade the man in death. If anything is the height of hypocrisy, this is the crystal example of it. You must lead a very shallow existence of a life. I’m certainly glad I didn’t have you as a teacher. You, undoubtedly, would have thrown me to the curb and my eventual outcome may have been quite different. And not for the better.
Sorry I didn’t have a charmed childhood. Sorry my parents didn’t or couldn’t spend the time with me to make me prepared for your elite class of students. Sorry to have ever entered into this discussion with you. This discussion reminds me of an old adage: “The problem with arguing with idiots is that they drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.” That’s what this discussion with you reminds me of. You should be ashamed of yourself for your comments here and you should be feeling the guilt of being the hypocrite you framed yourself to be.
pmbrown49 on January 17 at 4:32 p.m.
CougarGold, well said and I’m glad “Pates” was the influence in your life that he was for countless others.
I, too, am sorry I wasted time responding to a miserable punk like The_Seer. What a sad, wasted life he must be stuck in.
Johnnyej on January 17 at 4:41 p.m.
Mr. Paton would treat the skinny non athletic kid the same as the big jock. If the non athletic kid did something, anything, better than the big jock, Mr. Paton would praise him. This kind of recognition and reinforcement resulted in increased effort in many endeavors, not just sports, by many of the students touched by Jim Paton. He taught people to believe in themselves. He taught people what the word “earn” means. He taught them what effort was. It was all about the effort with Mr. Paton. It was about personal bests, hard earned achievement, and in the end Spokane won.
Mr. Seer fails to realize that coaches are teachers. Sometimes the difference is they can actually become more. With Mr. Paton’s volunteerism, care, and tolerance, he helped people accomplish. Mr. Seer’s words are that of a closed minded, my way or the highway, type - the exact opposite of a liberal as blogger Dazzetrader mentions, and anti-educational. The results of that type of thought process are often dangerous, and anti-social. Mr. Seer is entitled to his opinion in our country, and so am I. Mr. Seer you are an ass of the highest order.
Mr. Paton is a gift to our youth and our community. I am honored to have known him.
max4 on January 17 at 8:21 p.m.
I would like to respond overall to the comments and not to Seer himself as I don’t feel his comments justify a reply. Anybody that would make such degrading comments toward somebody that cannot defend themselves and whose family and friends are grieving must truly have no dignity. I know that my father (Mr. Paton) had many people that held him in high regard and, yes; even those that did not care for him. I found the people that did not care for him over the years were those that did not feel they could hold up to his high standard (especially fellow teachers). He expected each and every one of us to be the best we could be. That did not mean that you had to be a Jock it meant you had to have determination. Anybody that knew him well knew that he was involved in many things other than athletics. Many things the standard jock would not have done. You don’t see many football players in drama (one of his passions). As many know he surrounded himself by some that were more fortunate than him and by many that were not. He surrounded himself by people that wanted to do better and be better. I went to Mead High School and I always asked my dad why he didn’t coach at Mead (there were times they asked). He told me “the kids at Mead don’t need me”. He knew that he could make a difference in many more lives where he was and he would never have left. Instead he allowed kids from other schools to come to him for help and mentoring. There were many nights he spent with kids that came to him begging for direction or help with a certain skill. He did not care where they came from only that they needed his help. He truly cherished the fatherly role he knew he had for far more than my sister and I. As many father’s keep scrapbooks for their kids he did for his…the 100’s of them. When he was passing my family started going through the many scrapbooks that he made that included articles, programs, announcements, etc. of all of his “kids” he was so proud of. These kids were not the strongest and just the athletes. These kids are the ones that truly made a difference (many of them became teachers and coaches themselves). Many of these kids, now men and women, came to say goodbye to my father during his last days. I thank them for that as it reminded me how many lives he actually touched. It reminded me that all of the struggles with the horrible diseases of Parkinson’s and Dementia over the last 30+ years were worth it. The only sadness I have throughout these posts is that a man attended his celebration of life that wasn’t there to celebrate but to gawk and make judgment. I still do not believe that he attended the same celebration that I did and can only hope that myself or my family do not cross paths with him in the future. Over the last six months my dad always asked my kids ( 6 and 8) how their day was at school and I can only hope that they have even just one teacher that makes a difference in their lives and that they can keep saying “it was great, Papa”.
CougarGold on January 17 at 10:59 p.m.
Max4 - That was a very touching read. I can recall meeting you, however, you wouldn’t remember me as you were just a baby in the house on Longfellow.
I want to extend my condolences to you and your family and to wish you the best. My dad died at the age of 69, one year older than Coach. It’s too soon but always is, no matter if he had lived to 100.
Thank you for such a heart-felt and touching remembrance and tribute to a wonderful man. I’m truly sorry you had to read through the drivel of sub-humanism from a clearly demented hypocrite and I’m sorry you have it in your thinking that he attended the service for your dad. It’s an unfortunate world we live in that someone would sully this memory of such a painful time. You have my best wishes.
max4 on January 18 at 9:17 a.m.
Seer- you have absolutely crossed the line!!!!! I am sooooo thankful my dad did not live to see the day that somebody compared his coaching to a “homoerotic environment”….get a life and let everyone else trying to make a positive influence in their lifetime get on with theirs.
CougarGold on January 18 at 9:57 a.m.
Max4 -
Seer = Troll. Don’t feed the trolls. I have flagged that post as inappropriate and was hoping the mods would have removed it before you saw it. Seer should be permanently banned from this site with sub-human comments like that. Again, my condolences to you and your family.
pmbrown49 on January 18 at 11:05 a.m.
I would encourage everyone on here to flag EVERY post made by The_Seer regardless of content. Click on his user name and go back and flag previous comments made as inappropriate on other topics that were commented on as well. If the Spokesman does, in fact, review flagged comments, s/he will be removed very soon.
I believe people have the right to their opinion as long as it is not defamatory, insensitive or just plain mean. The_Seer is a bully and needs to be removed.
Are you “listening”, Spokesman?
CougarGold on January 18 at 11:12 a.m.
Thanks Mods for cleaning up the comments.
detroitdude on January 19 at 9:14 a.m.
This guy sounds like he had a very positive impact on student’s lives. Seer, I don’t really see what your beef is with this guy?? The guy was a coach, generally coaching adolescent boys is what coaches do. I played hockey and football from middle school through high school….practice every morning before school, after school team related events, etc….it probably kept me out of a great deal of trouble I could have gotten in to. I’m just curious as to why you are framing this guy like he is Jerry Sandusky…
“I’d rather be at home with my wife. A woman. LIke normal men.”
By that logic, why don’t you just elect to teach adult women all the time for your career?