Pat Voullaire

When I first met with Pat - probably like most Living History writers - I didn’t know how things would go. Would the storyteller and I connect, and from what perspective would I write? I was going to say that Pat made it easy for me to write her story, but I need to reframe that. Pat made me feel totally at ease and very welcome but writing Pat’s story was a difficult task given the myriad subjects that could have been included. I could have written about her bookkeeping skills that saved a company thousands of dollars, or the raising of four wonderful children, who now as adults lead interesting lives of their own. I could write about the history of the Monak region, her knowledge of plants, life on the land, or travel. They all feature in Pat’s extensive knowledge. In the end I have chosen two. They are two subjects, that when Pat spoke of them, she became enlivened, her eyes twinkled with pleasure and her voice lilted. They are her love for words and language; and the love of her life, Geoff Voullaire. “As I sat looking out of the bus window, he came up to speak with the driver. He was lean, tanned, a man of the land. He looked so masculine; so different from men in the city”. This, Pat told me was her first recollection of seeing the man that would in time, become her husband, Geoff.