Former Tri-Citian of the Year dies on Badger Mountain hike
Philanthropist, businessman and former Tri-Citian of the Year Don Pratt died while hiking Badger Mountain on Tuesday.
Pratt was talking his daily hike when he reportedly started having trouble breathing at 6:25 a.m.
Benton County Fire District 1 and Richland medics raced to the scene and called in an air ambulance to help.
The Life Flight helicopter made a rare and highly visible landing on the mountain, but Pratt, 66, died on the 1,600-foot hill, according to reports from police, dispatch reports and Coroner Bill Leach.
The helicopter was spotted by dozens of people living in the area and who were out walking on the popular hiking trails.
A Kennewick High School graduate, Pratt ran a respected commercial and residential building company, Don Pratt Construction.
He lent that construction experience to several community projects which may have never happened if he hadn’t volunteered his time.
This included leading a group in 2005 to install a new heating and air conditioning system at the Burbank senior center, and helped convert part of the former Finley elementary school into a community meeting room.
One of the beneficiaries of his volunteer work was the Mid-Columbia Meals on Wheels.
The organization mourned his passing on its Facebook page Tuesday. He spent 19 years volunteering, first delivering meals with his dad, and then continuing after his father died.
He helped the organization build its new central kitchen, cafe and administration buildings.
“Don was a generous, kind and humble man who truly lived our principle of putting the needs of others before his own,” the Meals on Wheels post said. “Our thoughts and prayers go our to his family and friends. His passing is a huge loss for our community.”
This was just a small part of the volunteer work that earned Pratt the 2018 Tri-Citian of the Year award.
Rotary International and Kiwanis International present the award each year to a person with both professional success and civic activism.
After hearing the stories of people touched by Pratt’s generosity, Linda Moran, who nominated him, told the Herald she was brought to tears.
She described Pratt as a servant leader, humanitarian, teacher, philanthropist and role model who contributed to many causes through Kennewick’s Sunrise Rotary.
He joined Rotary in the late 90s after going to a meeting about Project IRIS, which sent thermal imaging equipment to local fire stations.
He was a tireless cheerleader for the Mid-Columbia Duck Race and traveled to Ethopia with fellow Rotarians on medical missions.
His efforts also brought playground equipment to Richland and helped create hiking trails on Badger Mountain.
The See3Slam Basketball tournament benefited from his help, as well as the Home Builders Association of Tri-Cities, Boys and Girls Club, Boy Scouts of America, Tri-Tech Skills Center, United Way of Benton and Franklin Counties, Safe Harbor Crisis Nursery, Habitat for Humanity and his church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 12:02 PM.