Raymaker remembered as political ‘mentor’
Patricia Raymaker is being remembered as a “force to be reckoned with” who was a key figure in sustaining Liberal fortunes during lean times in Alberta.
Raymaker, who died of cancer on Feb. 12 at the age of 72, was a longtime organizer for both the provincial and federal Liberal parties.
Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr said Wednesday he had known Raymaker since he was a kid in the 1980s. A friend throughout his political career, she helped to get him elected as an MLA and MP and most recently served on the board of his Calgary Centre riding association, said Hehr.
“She served as a mentor to me and many progressive politicians in Calgary who at many times needed her leadership to keep hope alive,” said Hehr, who in 2015 was elected with Darshan Kang as the first two Liberal MPs from the city since 1972. “It’s a testament to what she did, her life contribution to the party, that we actually won a couple of seats here in the last election.
“She was tremendously important. Even in our darkest days, Pat Raymaker would stand up and champion our values ... there was no stronger force in the Liberal movement in Calgary. She was a force to be reckoned with.”
Raymaker began as an organizer by helping manage the campaigns of her husband Daryl, also a fixture among Alberta Liberals.
She chaired or managed Alberta campaigns for the Liberal Party of Canada in the 1990s and 2000s and helped co-ordinate the leadership efforts of John Turner, Jean Chretien and Stephane Dion.
Provincial Liberal Leader David Swann said Raymaker was there for him when he began his political career running for the legislature in 2004. “She is the best example of a stalwart, I would say. Unwavering, consistently present at both the federal ... and the provincial level,” he said. “She was very positive, very supportive and encouraging. In my early years of course, I wasn’t sure what I was getting into. And her experience and Daryl’s were very helpful.”
A lifelong Calgarian, Raymaker trained and worked as a nurse and she remained deeply involved with health care. As a director of the Calgary District Hospital Group in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Raymaker worked to preserve services such as pediatric care at Rockyview Hospital at a time of significant cutbacks. She also served as president of the Brain Injury Association of Alberta and as a board member on the National Advisory Council on Aging.
“Pat saw issues in her community and the province and the country and rolled up her sleeves and got involved,” said Hehr.