Petesa “Pat” Fou Mahe, 67, of Morgantown, passed away Saturday, March 16, 2019, at home.
He was born in Utungake, Tonga, the son of the late Alipeti and Osi Mahe.
He left Tonga as a young man under the guidance of mentor, Mike Bailes. He attended nautical school in England, then sailed the Pacific with Mike on their small sailboat, “the Jellicle.”
Pat came to West Virginia in the ’70s. He played with the WVU Rugby Club and the Mon River “Mud Lobster” Rugby Club. Pat was known for his Polynesian pig roasts, and he also boxed in the 1986 Tough Man Contest.
Pat worked at Fort Martin Power Station for 30 years. He spent his free time outside gardening, cooking, watching his birds, walking in the woods looking for morel mushrooms and ginseng and building his camp. In the evenings, you could find him sitting by the fire watching the stars come out.
He is survived by his wife, Deborah Brady-Mahe; his son, Petesa Mahe, of Alexandria, Va.; his daughter, Maria McGonigle and husband, William, of Pittsburgh; daughter, Sarah Mahe, of Morgantown, and daughter, Olivia Thomas, of Napier, New Zealand; sisters, Taufa, Halamehi, Langima’a, Siosi an Vasa; and brothers, Heikoti, and Vainikolo, of Tonga and New Zealand. In addition, he is survived by numerous nieces and nephews in the U.S., Tonga and New Zealand.
Family and friends will be received at Hastings Funeral Home, 153 Spruce St., Morgantown, from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Wednesday. A graveside service will be held at the family’s home at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 21, with a celebration of life to follow.
Condolences: hastingsfuneralhome.com
