Pat Morrell, a long-time member of the Grace Brethren Church in Harrah, Wash. (Peter Touhey, pastor), recently retired as the town of Harrah’s clerk-treasurer. As she made plans to leave the office she had held for 28 years, she was featured in the Yakima, Wash., Herald-Republic. A portion of the story appears below. To read the complete story, click here.
Harrah clerk-treasurer — and her dogs — finally call it quits
HARRAH — After 28 years as town clerk-treasurer, Pat Morrell, who always brought her two dogs to work, is leaving.
Suffering from spinal stenosis — a narrowing of the spine — and severe arthritis, she said the pain is getting to be too much to continue working.
“And between the two of them, they’re about to do me in,” the 72-year-old said laughingly during a recent telephone interview…
Mayor Harrer said it’s going to be hard to replace Morrell.
“She’s a very dedicated worker and she’s an excellent accountant,” Harrer said. “She’s an excellent manager of the finances and she does extremely well with the public. She even knows residents’ account numbers off the top of her head.”
Morrell previously worked as a registered nurse, but she said the occupation caused her to move too much.
“I moved all around the country,” she said. “I never really could settle down and do what I thought I should be doing, so I decided I should change occupations.”
After completing accounting classes at Yakima Valley Community College, she applied for the job at Harrah.