Pat Pounds
19416 Gilmore Apt 6
Reseda CA 91423
818.342.7793
Reunion Biography for Pat Pounds
1. Arkansas Years: My parents were Ray and Margaret Pounds; Dad worked in the grocery
business most of his life and Mom was a traditional, stay-at-home Mom. I had two sisters, Mary
Norma (Overton) and Carolyn (McCarty), and one brother, Donald ("Sonny"). I was a student at
Sacred Heart Academy from Kindergarten through the seventh grade and switched to public
school in the eighth grade and went on to our Central High School. I was a member of the First
Baptist Church in Helena and saw the new church being built. I was fortunate to study art with
Ms. Ruth Green where I learned many basics about all media.
In my many part time jobs in Helena, I worked for Sterlings, SH Kress, JC Penney's and Grabers.
For two summers I worked with the federal Agricultural Soil & Conservation office mainly
measuring lot acreage on huge photo maps. While there, I created an ad to explain the
conservation program that paid farmers to plow under portions of their fields to enrich the soil.
Dozens of farmers signed up for the program and I received a letter of commendation from the
Governor for that work. After high school graduation I attended Ouachita Baptist College
(1956-57) where I was a member of the Ouachita Choir; we traveled throughout Arkansas to
perform Handel's, "The Messiah". (I still have the music). I lived in Ft. Smith with my college
roommate during the summer of 1957 and worked for JC Penney.
When I returned to Helena I again worked for Graber's. One of my jobs was dressing the
mannequins in the windows; people would stop and watch and I always felt like I was "on stage".
That was really a lot of fun! I remember the manager as a tall, skinny fellow with really dark hair
and I think his name was Mr. Bruce.
Tennessee Years: Gloria McKuin encouraged me to move to Memphis and share an apartment
with her, where we stayed until she and Don were married. I found new roommates who were
active in the Memphis Little Theatre of amateur performers. I began a seven-year involvement
with the theatre as a volunteer set artist; I helped paint some 150 different stage sets and really
enjoyed using my art training. When we struck the sets, a fund-raising auction would be held and
many patrons bought the decorative set pieces I made and used them in their homes.
During this time I worked as an Ad Manager for Goldsmith's Department Store and also became
a member of the professional Advertising Club of Memphis. Later when I worked as a
copywriter for the Brick Mueller, Swearingen, Dorrity Ad Agency, I received a Pyramid Award
(1967) for creating ads that had helped the agency grow from $1 Million to $2.5 Million in
billings in less than a year.
In 1964, I was invited to represent a company as a Maiden in the Cotton Carnival and
experienced my "15 minutes of fame" when my photo was on the front page of the Memphis
Press Scimitar.
For a couple of years, I volunteered as a teacher for both a Methodist and a Catholic Youth
Program teaching young people basic creative writing skills and then taking their material and
writing it into a script form which was used for plays. This was an after school program designed
to give teens a positive learning experience and was quite experimental in the early 60s.
I had many wonderful roommates during these years and went to dozens of weddings and baby
showers! Got engaged twice, and "chickened out" both times. I often visited Helena and would
always have dinner at Nick's Caf, with my Dad.
California Years: I was given a two-weeks paid vacation from the Ad Agency I worked for in
Memphis and went to Los Angeles to visit Gloria and Don; met Don's brother, Alan, and it was "love
at first sight". I quit my job, gave up the house in Memphis that I was about to buy, and
moved to Los Angeles to get married in 1967. On July 17, 1968, our daughter was born; in
February 1969 Alan died of internal hemorrhaging at the age of 33; he was awaiting a liver
transplant, which in those days was a new procedure, and a donor was not found in time. Many
times after his death, I would think about moving back to Memphis but always landed a top job
in L.A., so stayed on. I worked as a Staff Writer for the John D. Roche Ad Agency; Forest Lawn
Cemeteries; Goodwill Industries of Southern California and a Medical Journal. I was fortunate to
find a retired schoolteacher who owned an apartment building and rented out her apartments to
working mothers and then babysat the children. We stayed there for five years. In 1972 I met Ted
Anderson with whom I had a long friendship and loving relationship until his sudden death in 2003.
My career often involved publicity events that required working with movie and television
personalities. One of the most memorable included a charity event at Goodwill Industries with
the cast of "Happy Days"; Marian Ross and Anson Williams greeted hundreds of girl scouts and
posed for photos with each troop. It was an annual event called "Dolly Derby". I included my
daughter in many of those activities. I became a member of the Los Angeles Publicity Club and
an associate member of the Greater Los Angeles Press Club professional organizations from
1974 through 1980.
In 1988, to help celebrate my big "50", Ted took me on a Caribbean Cruise on the Princess line; I
thoroughly loved it and look forward to taking another cruise in the future. The jewelry in the
Cayman Island shops was simply awesome, and the beaches were spectacular, so pristine and
bright!
In 1990, I was a victim of the California economic mini-recession and after losing all my savings
and home of 15 years, decided to try my hand again back East.
Texas Months: My brother Donald ("Sonny") lived in Houston so I went there; I stayed with him
until his death in February of 1991. After Sonny's death, I enjoyed a month's vacation with my
former Memphis roommate, Ms. Bobbie Franklin who was a biochemist for the Texaco
Corporation in Houston. Then I moved north to Minnesota.
Minnesota Years: My sister, Mary Norma and her children and their families reside in the
St.Paul-Minneapolis and Rochester areas. The first winter I was in St. Paul, a huge 21-inch
snowfall blew in, which, in one night, made up for all the 21 years I had been away from snow! I
worked for several temporary agencies during this time but never really found a job that I liked.
Somehow I survived until May of 1993 and was just too homesick for California so I boarded a
plane and headed back.
Home in California Again! While looking for a "real job", I signed up with many temporary
employment agencies which had always been my survival mode between writing jobs in the past.
I took a long-term temporary job with the Pinkerton Security Agency and worked with the
company until the earthquake of 1994 destroyed the building we were in. My assignment was
basically research, no cloak and dagger stuff, but interesting.
In 1995, I tripped on a cable wire and fell on concrete and fractured my hip; after rod & pin
surgery, I was in a wheelchair for several months, then a walker and finally a cane. In 1997 I
started the new gentle Chiropractic treatments (no bone cracking) and no longer need even a
cane. I do have a problem with bouts of arthritis, but then, so do most people I know now.
My daughter, Kari returned to college to get her BA Degree in Journalism. (She currently is a
pre-school teacher.) We decided to share an apartment near the college so we could help each
other; I edit her college papers and she assists with physical things I have trouble doing.
Alan also had a daughter, Diane, in his first marriage; she has two sons and one daughter so I am
a "step-grandmother". They live in Las Vegas and we have had several pleasant visits in the past
few years.
I am working part-time at Sears in the evenings to keep my joints "oiled" and it seems to be
working. I volunteer as a Board Trustee at my church, the Sepulveda Unitarian-Universalist
Society and am active as the Publicity Committee Chair and write most of the stories about our
community and musical events. Somewhere in all my assorted files, I have my great-unfinished
American novel; I just haven't had time to organize it yet because I'm too busy enjoying life and
friends. When I really "retire", I'm sure I'll complete the book and even do some art projects, at
least that's my current plan!