W.C. "Pat" Gilbert Jr.

William Clayborne (WC) Gilbert, Jr. peacefully entered his heavenly home on Wednesday, September 20th, 2023. Known by many names including WC, Pat, Dad, Papa and Pops, Pat touched so many lives in his time with his family and friends on earth. Born on October 29th, 1936 in Parsons, TN, Pat always treasured his roots in his beloved Tennessee. He was the 6th of 7 children, having 2 brothers and 4 sisters. Together, they enjoyed the hard but simple life on their family farm. At 17 years old, Pat decided to join the U. S. Navy with several of his best friends. He left prior to high school graduation, eventually earning his GED, but still proudly considered himself an alumnus of Parsons High School. His first station was in San Diego and although he sought this new adventure, one person tied him back to Tennessee: his sweetheart Sammie Doris Gilbert. They met at the young ages of 16 and 15, quickly becoming inseparable. And as the family joked, they made their first hamburger together when he crashed his father’s brand new Buick on one of their early dates, hitting a cow. Pat and Doris were married in a drive-in wedding chapel in Yuma, Arizona on June 11th, 1955, building a life together for 63 years. They had two children: Steven Anthony and Cheryl Ann.

Through constant hard work in the U. S. Navy and side jobs as a waiter and night manager at McDonald’s, Pat supported his young family far away from their original home. Anyone who knew Pat loved him. He was gregarious, charming, generous, and unfailingly kind. His personality, perseverance and hard work opened doors for him and his family, even leading to an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to invest in McDonald’s at a very young age. He served in the U.S. Navy for 20 years, traveling the world, including an incredible 3 years in Sydney, Australia. During his Navy career, he remained a silent partner in McDonald’s, helping to establish Career’s Incorporated. Pat and Doris opened the very first McDonald’s in the PNW on 122nd and NE Glisan in Portland, OR in 1960. Once he retired from the U. S. Navy after serving 20 years, he became a full-time partner in Career’s Inc. By the end of his career, Pat owned and operated 11 McDonald’s in the Pacific Northwest. His early investment and hard work transformed his and his family’s life.

Pat retired from business at the young age of 60. By this time, he was a beloved papa to his three granddaughters, Nicole Ann, Ashley Brooke, and Sarah Doris. He spent his retirement traveling, including spending many months every year in his favorite place: Kona, Hawaii. He gave selflessly to his family, supporting his granddaughters in all of their endeavors, cheering them on at horse shows, showing up to every event, and being one of the brightest spots in their young lives. Doris and Pat lived in their beautiful home on the Columbia River in Vancouver, WA and he could often be found sitting by a window, cigar in mouth, golf hat on, and eyes jammed into his telescope, watching the planes take off from PDX. As they aged, Pat became the primary caregiver of his cherished wife, Doris, keeping her comfortable and loved until she parted from this life in 2018. Although heartbroken, Pat was determined to continue living his life. He was not only a grandfather but a great-grandfather and in true WC fashion, Pat was not giving up. He even found love again, reuniting with a childhood friend, Joyce White. She became his companion to the end. They shared much joy, laughter, and adventures and we glimpsed images of a much younger Pat in their love.

WC Gilbert, Jr. was preceded in death by his wife, Sammie Doris Gilbert and most of his siblings. He is survived by his children: Steven Anthony Gilbert and Cheryl Ann Gilbert Cundiff; his grandchildren: Nicole Prince (Seth), Ashley Barnes-Gilbert (Taylor), and Sarah Farler (Paul); and his great-grandchildren: Cadence Ann, Rowan Arya, Weslan Sterling, Lucille Joan, Clayborne James (his namesake), and Theodore Samuel. He is also survived by his earliest and most enduring friend - his younger sister, Patsy (Lynn) Jackson - and his beloved companion, Joyce White.

Although our hearts are broken and Pat’s passing leaves such a huge hole in our lives, we will constantly hold onto his catchphrase: “Things are looking up!”

In lieu of flowers, it is requested that any memorial donation be contributed to Ronald McDonald House Charities in his name. https://rmhc.org/donate

Eulogy for W C Gilbert, Jr.

My name is Cheryl and I am WC’s daughter. Thank you so much for coming today to honor my dad. He would be so pleased and happy…he told me the only sad thing about his funeral was that he couldn’t be here to see everyone and have a good time. Haha My dad told me everything he wanted for his funeral…and told me to write it down…this funeral was planned by him… the casket he chose, the bread pudding we will enjoy later, and the songs being played. We spent hours picking songs…he had to listen to them, choose his favorite artist, etc. We had so much fun and laughed so hard…there’s even one song he wanted to be played during the memorial video just so everyone would say ‘What the heck is this song?’ See if y’all can figure which song it is. His sense of humor was fantastic!

My dad was an amazing and accomplished man. Born on October 29, 1936 on the outskirts of Parsons, Tennessee, a small town in middle Tennessee, he entered the springtime of his life…a time of new growth. Dad was the second youngest of 7 kids and was ‘kind of’ spoiled but much beloved by his older siblings and parents. Even though he had two older brothers, my dad was chosen to have the designation of Junior and was named after his father. Delivered by the country doctor who knew the family well, his name was written down as W C because the doctor was going to fill in his entire name when he finished the paperwork but got distracted and forgot and submitted the incomplete paperwork to the state of Tennessee, so even though he was known as William Clayborne Jr., his legal name was W C Gilbert, Jr. Somehow, he picked up the nickname of ‘Pat’ along the way but no one actually remembers how or why. lol He, as were all his siblings, was born in a 2-room house (not 2 bedroom but 2-room) with a tin roof, no electricity and no indoor plumbing. He was raised in this same house, with he and his siblings sharing one bedroom together and his parents sleeping in the living room/kitchen area that had a wood stove for heating. Water was drawn from the well. If you had to go to the bathroom, your two choices were the chamber pot under the bed or the long trek outside to the outhouse. I think you get the picture. As long as dad lived there, they never had indoor plumbing but finally got electricity when he was about 12 or so.

The summertime of dad’s life was a time of fun and blessings. Quite by happenstance, he was 16 years old when he met the love of his life carpooling to Memphis with her and her stepfather who needed surgery. He and my mom began dating and became inseparable. They had lots of fun together with a few mishaps, including one encounter with a cow on a 2-lane road driving 80 mph in his dad’s brand new Buick (which wasn’t even insured yet) because they were late for the drive-in movie showing of White Christmas. We always teased him that this was his first attempt at making hamburgers. Lol It became a standing joke in our family that neither of them had ever watched White Christmas. I bought them the dvd and we sat down to watch it together but they both fell asleep and never finished it. White Christmas, sung by Bing Crosby, was one of their favorite songs though, so go figure. At the age of 17, during January of his senior year of high school, dad, along with a few of his best friends, joined the US Navy, mainly because there was a mandatory draft and he didn’t want to be forced into the army but also because he wanted to see the ocean. He was shipped out to basic training, missing the last semester of his senior year (he eventually got his GED and a few years of college in but still proudly wore his senior class ring from Parsons High School) and ended up in San Diego, California for his first station. He missed my mom tremendously and asked her to marry him from long distance. He sent her some money to help pay for the trip across country and she left Tennessee before her senior year of high school (she eventually earned her GED also) and drove to San Diego with her mom and two of dad’s sisters, along with another couple they didn’t know but needed the ride and could help pay for the gas. When she arrived in San Diego, they immediately went to get married but found out there was a 3-day waiting period in California so they drove to Yuma, Arizona and got married in Yuma’s Famous Drive-In Wedding Chapel on June 11, 1955. He was 18 and she was 17 years old. Unbelievable to me! Dad was shipped out many times and really enjoyed being in the Navy, although he actually got seasick a lot of the time. A major opportunity in their lives began when he was stationed at the Naval Air Station in Great Lakes, Illinois. To earn extra money, dad took a night job at a small drive-in restaurant called McDonald’s. One day, he was summoned in to talk to 8 naval officers who were about to retire from the Navy after 20 years of service and wanted something to invest in to secure their futures. They wanted to pick dad’s brain about McDonald’s because they found out he worked there - was it a good restaurant? - was Ray Kroc (the founder of McDonald’s) a trustworthy man? At this time, there were only two McDonald’s in existence and they were both in Illinois, but Ray Kroc had decided to offer franchise opportunities to investors because he wanted to expand all across America. Dad answered all of their questions but then told them that he wanted to invest too and be a silent partner until his service in the Navy was completed. Dad went home and talked to mom about it and she vehemently disagreed because it would take all of their money except for $5, along with a loan from his father that they would have to pay back asap. At this time, Steve was about a year old and mom was pregnant with me, so you can see why she panicked. They stayed up all night talking about it (but knowing their relationship, I’m sure it was pretty loud talking…lol) and the next morning, dad told her he had made the decision to do it because it was a great opportunity and if it failed, they were still young and would be able to go in another direction if necessary. Ray Kroc wrote about the original 9 sailors in his autobiography and dad knew him personally. Dad had a lot of respect for Ray because of how he attempted so many different ventures in his life that failed but finally hit upon a successful one in his 50s, so dad knew it was possible to fail but succeed later on and this really influenced his decision to invest in McDonald’s at such a young age. Thus began dad’s duel careers of being in the Navy and being a silent partner in McDonald’s. Career’s Incorporated was established and in 1960, they opened the first McDonald’s in the PNW at 122nd and NE Glisan in Portland, Oregon. Meanwhile, dad continued his work in the Navy and everywhere we moved to, he always got a night job at a local McDonald’s to learn everything he could about the business. My dad was the hardest worker I’ve ever known…and when he wasn’t working, he was thinking about work. He wanted to be successful and felt a huge responsibility to provide for his family. So this made our times that we drove across country to a different station (which we did many times) especially fun, because we had dad to ourselves (well, mom was along too but dad was the one who would swim with us, etc., with mom enjoying the peace and quiet of an empty motel room). Steve and I would peel our eyes looking for a motel that had a pool with a slide with the possible bonus of a ‘massage bed.’ Who remembers those? You put a quarter in a box and the entire mattress vibrated…was loads of fun…lol Dad LOVED to swim so this was a treat for Steve and me because dad relaxed and had fun with us and that wasn’t something that happened very often because he was always working. We actually got to spend a little more quality time with dad when we lived in Australia because there were no McDonald’s over there so dad couldn’t take a night job…haha..but that’s the only place I remember him being home most nights for dinner.

During the autumn of dad’s life, he retired from the Navy and he and mom made one last big move to Portland, Oregon, where he finally joined his remaining partners in the business. Dad became fully involved, eventually owning and superbly running 11 McDonald’s restaurants before he retired. He became a very successful businessman and earned every accolade and dollar with his exceptional code of ethics – for honesty, integrity and professionalism. I remember when he opened the McDonald’s on Burnside Ave here in Portland. Dad HAD to dot every I and cross every T and WOULD NOT relax and enjoy the opening, so mom and I made a bet with him about the amount of money the store would make the first day open. We set the dollar amount high and dad said it would NEVER make that much money on opening day. He said if it did, he would send us both first class to Europe on a luxury vacation. Dad tended to be a tad bit pessimistic because he felt there was no such thing as ‘easy street.’ Well, thankfully dad lost that bet and you better believe that mom made him pay, except she made him go with her. We had done some extensive traveling as a family when we moved to Australia and came home via Hong Kong, Japan and other places and this wetted their appetites for more. This became a time in their lives where they began to travel and man alive, did they travel! They visited Japan, Russia, Egypt, Vietnam, China, so many countries in Europe…traveling on the Concorde and the Orient Express…I can’t possibly name all the places they visited but they had amazing adventures together.

Autumn blended into winter in dad’s life. He decided to sell his McDonald’s restaurants and retire at the fairly young age of 60, although he always kept up with the business and still attended conventions and such. He and mom continued to travel and bought a condo in Kona, Hawaii, which was dad’s happy place. He LOVED Hawaii…he would of lived there full time if mom would have agreed to, but she didn’t want to be that far away from the grandkids, so they would spend months at a time over there and come home to be with us, which was mom’s happy place. Dad’s personality never changed…there was always something to worry about or fuss over, and he attended to whatever he needed to with the same zeal and attention to detail that he utilized when he was in business. The only place I remember where he truly relaxed was in Hawaii, but there were still things he worried about even there. He cared so much for his family and tried so hard to make sure we were taken care of. This was never more true than when my mother fell ill. The last few years of her life were pretty restricted after a major stroke and there was a role reversal in the family. Mom had always taken care of all of us…she was the nurturing one who gave her time and efforts to helping us in everyday life while dad was always the working one. But the last few years of my mom’s life brought out the nurturing side of my dad, and I felt so blessed to witness the way that he took care of her, feeding her before he would feed himself, taking care of her physically the best way he could. He was almost broken when she passed away in 2018 but very grateful for their life together of 65 years, married for 63 of those years. But winter doesn’t always mean that everything shuts down just because it’s snowing (unless you live in Portland…everything shuts down in Portland when it’s snowing…hahaha). Dad was blessed to discover love again with a former childhood friend. They started having long talks over the phone as Joyce had lost her spouse too. Dad took a few trips back to Tennessee and then they traveled together to Hawaii for a couple of weeks in February of 2020. When they arrived back in Portland, the stupid pandemic was starting so Joyce traveled back to Tennessee with plans to move out here but that was delayed for over a year because of Covid. She moved out here in May of 2021 and they truly enjoyed the time they had left together. I am so grateful for her loving care in helping dad through his last few years with us. She enabled him to continue to live independently, which was such an amazing blessing. Joyce is a force to be reckoned with and she advocated for dad exceptionally well. As she told me, they did not have enough time together but the time they did have was enjoyed to the fullest.

As winter comes to a close and spring begins again, so as it is in life also. While my dad’s physical life has come to an end here on earth, his new life has now begun in Heaven. It’s springtime again for him. How amazing that is!!! A few days before dad stepped into heaven, he told us he was almost there to stay. Two angels came to visit him and he told us that he went with them and was taken to heaven. He said it was so peaceful and beautiful and he was so excited to be there. Then he said they told him that it wasn’t quite his time and he needed to go back and he remembers waking up to Joyce hitting him on his chest and yelling his name (I mean…she didn’t normally do this…but she found him unconscious and it took her 30 minutes to get him back). Joyce was in a tug of war with those angels! Lol He told Joyce that she had run off his two angels and he wanted them to come back! I mean seriously…what an amazing blessing he received…and likewise all of us. We got the bonus of spending three extra days with him here on earth and he got the bonus of assurance that where he was going was a glorious place full of peace and beauty and everything we all long for and his Savior was there! Dad accepted the Lord as his Savior when he was a child and he was now certain of his destination and desperately yearned to complete his trip. It can’t get any better than that folks! As for us left here without him, it’s definitely bittersweet. While I am rejoicing that dad is in heaven with my mom and his loved ones, I desperately miss him. He wasn’t only my dad…he was also one of my best friends…and these last five years since my mom passed were a time of incredible bonding between us. I will miss him always and I truly look forward to the day when I will see him again in heaven. In closing, I have to pay tribute to my dad by saying this. He always used to joke that when he was in business, he was a ‘somebody’ but when he retired, he became a ‘nobody.’ Dad, nothing could be further from the truth. You always were and you always will be a SOMEBODY, especially to all of us who knew you and loved you. I was so blessed to be your daughter. I will love you and miss you forever.

Papa Eulogy

There are some people in this world who will always seem too big for it: too bright, too giving, too funny, too transformative. They leave the biggest impact on those around them, from waiters in restaurants to flight attendants to childhood friends to employees to their children and grandchildren. That was our papa.

Although he had many names, papa will always be the best grandfather three girls could ask for. From our earliest memories, we have always known that papa was our steadfast anchor. He held true in the midst of our biggest storms, giving us unconditional love and always always celebrating us at every turn.

As we gather to honor his memory and celebrate his incredible life, we wanted to give y’all a glimpse into the gift our papa was to us by sharing some memories–some funny and some poignant. Here is what papa meant to us:

Papa, we will always:

Cherish the image of you with a paci (cigar) in your mouth, quick laugh, and the best smile. We remember countless hours, sitting at your feet or in your lap as you showed us how to use your telescope, capturing the airplane take offs, boats on the Columbia, and the galaxies above on clear nights. We remember you jumping in the pool at our favorite house - taking a deep breath and swimming end to end without surfacing.

We remember you at the mountain house, sitting in the jacuzzi watching the stars and hunting for golf balls. We remember you working in your office in Portland–sitting behind your giant desk, McDonald’s signs all around you, and a drawer full of candy bars.

We remember your warm hugs, the smell of your cologne, your Scorpio necklace glinting at your neck, your sticking up eyebrows, your strong, long nails, the softness of your beard, the warmth of your jacket, and your steadfast presence at every big moment in our lives.

We will always

Remember you hiding your face in fear as we jumped our horses over giant jumps but clapping and celebrating our wins and losses at every horse show and wearing all our ribbons as a bib.

We will always

Remember when we were little and every time you visited the TN house, we would wake up and find you downstairs. Before even saying good morning, you would yell “ooga booga” and start dancing like a scarecrow.

We will always

Remember you grilling teriyaki steaks on our birthdays - even Sarah’s in December with your winter coat on - making us laugh, dancing with mama, and watching us play fairies in the moss surrounding your garden.

We will always

Celebrate your incredible life. Because of papa, we all followed different dreams–going to college and finding our passions.

I was able to follow my dream and become a professor. I always share his story with my students, especially my first years. I talk about how he came from a rural home and clawed his way to success. I talk about how he didn’t just do this for himself.

He did it for us - building and transforming generations through his ingenuity, hard work, and dedication.

We, as his granddaughters, have always known that he was somebody; he was our somebody but truly, he was such an incredible person that touched everyone he knew.

His story will never remain untold - as his granddaughters, we will make sure of that.

We will always

Remember you on special occasions - whether it was Easter morning at the country club or on our wedding days - you showed up in your snappy suit, beard combed, awesome golf hat, and shined shoes. We felt so much comfort and pride in your presence. Although not tall, you felt so tall and steadfast to us–the pillar of our family.

We will always

Remember your way with other people–especially how much you noticed everyone’s special gifts and respected their work. We could never go to a restaurant without papa making friends with the waiter. By the end of every meal, he would know their full name, life story, and future hopes.

His humor and zest for life was contagious – so contagious that even strangers fell for papa. And that typically meant that we rarely got out of a restaurant in under two hours. ha.

We will always

Remember sharing so many firsts with you from cigars to wine tasting to fancy restaurants, even when those restaurants had windows 100 stories up and you had to crawl along the side because you were afraid of heights. You always chewed your cigars - which we didn’t want to do. But we can still picture smoking a cigar at night on the jetty with you by our side.

We will always

Remember you celebrating every milestone - no matter how small - you were always there cheering us on. You made sure that we had the best opportunities, especially in our education. And with each graduation, seeing your shining face in the crowd was the best feeling. Your support of us and your pride in us made our lives possible.

We will always

Miss being able to call and talk to you - in good times and bad. You have always been a calming, listening ear for us and the person we always turned to whenever we needed advice. You were never afraid to share your own shortcomings.

We appreciate the times that you shared those trials in your own life to teach us. We learned how important it is to forgive from you and how you lived your life. We never felt alone in our journey knowing yours.

We will always

Model your commitment to always learning - you never limited yourself and you made sure we never did either.

We will always

Remember you cheating at Rook with mom. I hope mama and aunt lucy are getting all the trump cards in heaven!

We will always

Remember your jokes, especially noting that yes - we can multiply.

We will always

Remember your stories. As we got older, we got to learn more about you when you shared your deep, rich life experience. You didn’t shy away from showing us your full story. We truly got to know you as adults and what a gift you were.

We will always

Remember Christmas day with you–from waking you up at 5 am in your room to Santa presents in the tv room to the afternoon nap required before we finished opening all the gifts mama bought us without you knowing to your secret presents you would save for mama at the end of the day. We will never have a Christmas and not think of you.

We will always

Cherish you celebrating us finding love and building our new lives and families. We couldn’t imagine another person walking us down the aisle or dancing with us on our wedding days. You, papa, have always been that father figure we didn’t have.

We will always

Remember handing you our newborn babies. Our children are so lucky that they got to know you for as long as they did. And just like with us, you loved our kids for who they are no matter what.

You celebrated Cadence’s brilliance, Rowan’s creativity, Weslan’s kindness, Lucy’s daredevilness, Clay’s humor, and Theo’s sweetness.

You even loved our many pets, knowing all their ridiculous names, asking after them, and in return, they cleaned out your ears.

You supported our kids at every turn, celebrating their lives like you did ours. Your legacy lives on in them.

We will always

Miss you singing us happy birthday. Every year, papa would call to sing us happy birthday. In recent years, we would always let the phone go to voicemail so we could capture his voice one more time - we never knew which voicemail would be our last.

So we all have a collection but oh how we wish we could get just one more.

We will always

Treasure your adventurous spirit. You instilled a love for travel and nature in us and relished in all our stories that you made possible.

We will always

Remember with joy all your micromanaging of every situation. Don’t worry - we will still make sure to listen to all of your advice–especially to never pay full price for anything.

We will always

Miss your taco nights. Really, we will miss all our family meals. As adults, we would always know we were home when we sat down to eat dinner with you.

We will always

Be thankful for you holding us accountable but with so much grace.

We will always

Remember how much you loved our mama. This was something we always knew. When we were little, we watched you sneak kisses and hold her hand when no one watched. We laughed as she, with much exasperation, batted your hand away from stealing her desert.

And as she aged and couldn’t care for herself, we watched you so selflessly take care of our mama - making sure she was loved and her wishes were respected to the very end. Your love for our mama inspired us and we strive to emulate such love in our own lives.

We will always

Remember your amazing smile - even at the very end. Joy danced in your eyes.

We will always

Think of you in Hawaii - a lei around your neck, feet in the sand, and cigar in your mouth– getting ready to dance at the luau that night.

We will always

Try to model your generosity. We aren’t sure there could be a more generous person than you. You gave to everyone around you–and not just money but your love, your joy, your humor, your support, your brilliance, your advice, and your innovation.

We will always

Remember your final advice:

When Sarah had the opportunity to interview Papa about his life, she asked him what advice about living a good life he would give to others. He said: “the advice is to live life to the fullest that you can. Never hurt your fellow man. Find happiness wherever you can. And have a goal of being the best human being that you can be.”

As your granddaughters, we have seen this advice in action–watching you be one of the best humans we have ever known. Even after you left, you still surprised us with your guidance in our lives and your generosity. We will keep striving to live up to your example and as you always said, remember that “things are looking up!”