Chris Kemp

Entering his freshman year of high school in Kenosha, senior Josh Pade had his life figured out. An above-average student, Pade set his standards high and decided Harvard University would be the school for him four years down the road.

However, the events that unfolded on the morning of Thursday, Sept. 8, 1993 not only changed the Pade family’s way of life, they also helped shape the now soon-to-be-graduate’s calling.

Life after loss

Just days after entering his first year of high school, Pade’s father, Jerry Pade, came home early from work that morning in September. Hours later, the elder Pade was rushed to the hospital following a severe heart attack. The 46-year-old father of four died later that day.

The weekend before Jerry’s death, he and his son went fishing, an activity they enjoyed together, and talked about the prospects of starting high school and continuing to college.

“He made me a promise that if I got excepted into Harvard, he’d buy me a Roadster,” Pade said. “He was really down-to-earth, a kids’ dad, the kind of dad that was fun to hang around with.”

Pade’s mother, JoAnn Pade, his brothers, Jeff and UW-Eau Claire alumnus Jeremy Pade and his sister, Eau Claire freshman Jocelyn Pade, not only had to deal with the loss of a loved one, they also had to adjust the family’s entire lifestyle, Pade said.

“My life pretty much all changed when my dad died,” he said. “It drastically changed all our lives in every way.”

Dick Boyum, professor emeritus of psychology, said in his experience he has seen children who lose parents grow up faster than their peers.

“It depends a lot on the individual and how they perceive the situation, but … it tends to cause them, in more cases than not, to mature more rapidly.”

Pade said he also began to notice how close he, his siblings and his mother got following Jerry’s death.

“We’re extremely tight,” he said. “You’re always close to family, you just don’t realize that you’re that close.”

Not only did the Pades have to grieve the loss of a beloved husband and father, they also had to face losing the comfort of the financially secure existence the family had grown accustomed to.

JoAnn, a now recent college graduate, had not had a career prior to her husband’s death. She quickly had to take on the additional roles of single parenting, including that of breadwinner, Pade said.

JoAnn said her son compensated for the loss of his father by looking after her and his younger siblings.

“Being the oldest and being a male, he tried to have broad shoulders,” JoAnn said.

In order to make ends meet, the family eventually was forced to sell their house in Kenosha and move to Marshfield, where Pade’s mother was offered a job at Marshfield Clinic. However, Pade said, the family still faced financial difficulties.

“We were a family that had a fairly low income, but we didn’t qualify for financial aid, so that was odd,” he said. “We were too rich to be poor and too poor to be rich.”

After graduating as valedictorian of his high school class and attending three semesters at UW-Marshfield, Pade took two years off of college to work and save money.

Pade said he noticed, during this time, the financial difficulties faced by the middle class in America.

“The middle class really gets squeezed,” he said.

And, although the Harvard education was not financially possible for his family, Pade said he is very proud to be receiving a degree from Eau Claire next week.

“I just tell people I go to the Harvard of the Midwest,” he said with a laugh.

Working for change

According to 2003 U.S. Census Bureau statistics, the median income in America is $43,527 a year. In comparison, the national poverty threshold for a family of four is $18,725.

Helping the individuals who unexpectedly find themselves in this gap is one of the reasons Pade said he wants to work in politics. Other reasons include increasing citizens’ access to government and the availability of higher education.

“The motivation I have, especially in politics, is to help people, because I saw the things that we had to struggle with,” he said.

As a double major in political science and economics, Pade began his love affair with politics during the 1992 Presidential Election between incumbent President George H.W. Bush and then-Gov. Bill Clinton, when he was 12 years old.

JoAnn said she doesn’t know how Pade and his brother Jeremy, who is currently attending George Washington University graduate school for public policy, ended up choosing politically-oriented careers. She said she and her husband did not talk about politics when her children were younger.

“I’ve never been interested in politics, and neither was their dad,” she said.

Pade’s interest in political life manifested itself last summer, when he worked as an intern for Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., in Washington, something Jeremy had done the previous summer.

“It was probably the most exciting summer of my life, being in the Capitol,” he said.

While at his internship, Pade worked with senators, listened on the floor of the House of Representatives and met with political figures such as Colin Powell and Newt Gingrich.

However, Pade also realized his previous goal of attending Harvard may not have been all he thought it was at the time.

“Interning in D.C. has pretty much become summer camp for well-connected Ivy Leaguers,” he said. “When you talk to some of them, the glory fades pretty fast.”

We’ve built our society not on success, but on how well-connected you are.”

The people Pade most looks up to politically are those who overcame difficulties to work for the public good. His role models include Nelson Mandela, Teddy Roosevelt and the Kennedys, he said.

“They’ve all had to face very tough struggles and they were all able to not only come out of them, but to be positive about it.”

He also said he was motivated by these people after his father’s death.

“They were able to take tragedies and move on and make something of them,” he said.

Looking to the future

Following graduation next week, Pade said he plans to work for a while before eventually attending law school. He said giving up the college lifestyle is not something he’s particularly looking forward to.

He said he’ll probably miss the bridge the most after graduation.

“It’s a landmark … every morning walking across the bridge in rain, sleet, snow or hail.”

It’s common for graduates to be reluctant about leaving the university and entering the “real world,” Boyum said.

“There’s both excitement and some level of reasonable fear,” he said. “At graduation there are both tears of sadness and tears of joy.”

JoAnn said she is excited for her son, although it means he’ll probably move away from Wisconsin.

“We always encouraged him to give back and be the best he could be,” she said. “I think he’s going to be known.”

She said some of the attributes that will be beneficial in the job market and in public service, Pade inherited from his father.

“Josh can just talk to everybody at every time about everything. That’s a lot like how his dad was,” she said. She added Pade’s ambition also reminds her of his father as well as his desire to constantly learn.

Senior Alan Plamann, a friend andcoworker, also said he admires Pade’s ability to discuss a variety of topics.

“He’s the king of useless information,” Plamann joked. “He’ll just talk about the Wizard of Oz and its political connotations. It’s just kind of fun to listen to him.”

Although his road to graduation was more difficult than Pade thought it would be, he said the tragedy and challenges he has been forced to face have made him who he is today.

“For all the things I’ve been challenged with and all I’ve learned … I’d be a completely different person if it didn’t happen,” Pade said. “And, I like the way I am.”