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The Pearsons: For these close-knit loving parents, their family life always came first
Wednesday, February 2, 2000
By ELAINE PORTERFIELD
He was a pillar of a good many Seattle restaurants over the years. She was an outgoing Alaska Airlines flight attendant. They were devoted parents to their two daughters, 6-year-old Rachel and 22-month-old Grace.
For their friends, the loss of Rodney and Sarah Pearson and their girls is painful almost beyond description.
"This has hit a lot of people," Church said. "There's been tears. A lot of managers are on duty today . . . because servers with a lot of history with Rod stayed home."
Rodney Pearson, 45, had at least 25 years in the restaurant business. He worked at many well-known restaurants, including Trattoria Mitchelli, Jake O'Shaughnesseys and the late Europa, Europa, said Church and other friends.
"He was a person in love with the industry," Church said. "He was hands-on. He met people at the door. He would bus tables. He didn't put himself above anything."
But as much as Pearson loved his work, he always set aside Sundays for his family, Church said. Family always came first, he said.
And if his wife was off flying, he wouldn't hesitate to bring his daughters into work, Church said.
"He would be bouncing them on his knee while he trained staff," Church said.
The Pearsons were on a family vacation, traveling on Alaska employee passes. It was their first vacation together in some time, friends said.
"It's a terrible thing," Mitchelli said. "We go back a ways, Rod and me. He had two little girls, and I have a little girl. . . . It's so scary."
Pearson was loved by those who worked for him, in part because he was never afraid to pitch in to do whatever needed to be done, Mitchelli said.
"He got his hands dirty and busted butt," Mitchelli said. "He was the epitome of the team player."
Bo Bonina, vice president of food and beverages for the Seattle Athletic Club, opened several restaurants with Pearson in 1993. They had been friends ever since, he said.
"He was a very good guy, extremely gregarious. He was a devoted family man," Bonina said. "And his wife, she was . . . outgoing and fun."
Rod Pearson was also a talented athlete. He loved cycling and was a former star high school wrestler in Seattle, Bonina said.
Sarah Pearson, 36, whose maiden name was Manning, was from Spokane, he said. Bonina spoke to her father yesterday, who was attempting to cope with the loss of the family.
"It's a devastating thing to lose a child, as well as grandchildren and a son-in-law," he said.
The Pearson family lived in a tidy clapboard beige-and-white home on Queen Anne. Next door, a note taped to a wreath read: "Friends and neighbors come in."
"You'd be surprised at how important they were to this block," said one neighbor, who did not give his name.
Bonina said Rodney Pearson was so devoted to his wife and daughters he could not have borne their loss. He would have wanted to go with them, he said.
"If he could have chosen it, this is what he would have wanted," Bonina said.
But for those left behind, it's almost unbearable to lose a whole family at once, he said.
P-I reporter Elaine Porterfield can be reached at 206-467-5942 or elaineporterfield@seattle-pi.com
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
"We're just trying to get through the day," said Tom Church, president of Six Degrees restaurants in Green Lake and Kirkland. Rodney Pearson was vice president of operations for Six Degrees, where he was extremely well liked by staff and customers, he said.
The Pearson family -- Sarah and Rodney, with daughters Grace (on her father's shoulders) and Rachel -- used this photo for their 1999 holiday greeting card.
Daniel Mitchelli IV, chef at Trattoria Mitchelli, said he had known Pearson since the early 1990s.
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