WA - Born in Boston, MA, Pam died of complications from esophageal cancer in Seattle, WA.

The eldest of six children, Pam graduated from Concord Academy before attending Radcliffe College on a full scholarship, where she completed her BA with honors in 1967. That same year, she married fellow Harvard student Jake Powel and they settled in his hometown of Seattle.

Pam's passion for early childhood education began with her studies at Harvard under Erik Erikson and Jerome Kagan, and continued through her career as a social worker and psychoanalytic therapist and in her roles as mother and grandmother. Before earning an MSW in 1975 from the University of Washington, Pam taught at the inaugural Head Start program in Roxbury, Mass and also in Seattle's White Center. She then went on to work at Seattle Child Guidance Center and other local agencies before launching her private practice in 1985. Through her work at Ryther, Pam met renown Viennese Psychoanalyst Dr. Edith Buxbaum, who became a lifelong mentor. For many years, Pam was a devoted and vital member of the Washington State Society for Clinical Social Work.

Caring for children and families was Pam's daily joy and her life's work. An empathy-fueled magnet for human connection, Pam couldn't so much as run to the grocery store without collecting the life story of whoever was standing next to her in line. She was endlessly curious about her fellow humans and believed above all in the importance of kindness.

Pam's sparkling eyes, boundless heart, and easy laugh will be missed by all her knew her, especially her husband and life partner of 60 years, Jake Powel, daughters Liza Powel O'Brien and Dr. Sarah Rougier, sons-in-law Conan O'Brien and Franck Rougier, grandchildren Neve and Beckett O'Brien and Louis-Henri and Charles-Phillipe Rougier, and brothers John and Mike Pyle and their families.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to:

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research

Union Gospel Mission

KUOW