Patrick Andre offered wide range in leather

Patrick Louis Andre, founder of the University District's Woolly Mammoth leather-goods store, was a man with a mission.

In the 1970s, offering sandals, leather skirts and sheepskin vests, he helped define The Ave's "hippie" look. More recently, he had upgraded the Mammoth to offer comfortable European shoes and changed its companion shop, Five Doors Up, to feature the latest footwear.

He not only made his stores successful family-style operations but also a refuge for student shoppers and young workers.

"Pat really was a `you-have-to-do-right-by-the-customer' kind of guy," said his wife of nine years, Elizabeth Andre of Seattle, who continues to run the stores.

In 1997, the Andres were nominated for a Mayor's Small Business Award.

Mr. Andre died Sunday (June 4) of kidney disease. He was 57.

Born in Spokane, he planned on a law career. He earned a liberal-arts degree at Gonzaga University and spent his junior year in Florence, Italy.

He began studying law at the University of Washington during the late 1960s, then dropped out.

In 1969 he shared a communal house with Michael Green, who was beginning to make leather purses that have become popular.

In 1970 Mr. Andre began his own entrepreneurial adventure with one latigo hide, two bottles of dye and four leather tools. He sold a dozen of his belts at the Pike Place Market.

He opened the Woolly Mammoth in 1970 in a second-floor loft. He boasted he could "make anything out of leather," including shoes, sandals, belts and purses.

"Pat named his store the Woolly Mammoth because someone said that was what he looked like in those days," said former store manager Jo Ann Oram. "He was well over 6 feet tall, robust, and had lots of long, thick, dark hair."

He made most of the merchandise, contracting some to future employees. In the mid-1970s, he moved the store to its present site in the 4300 block of University Way. He eventually stopped making rough-hewn belts and began selling exquisitely crafted vests, coats, briefcases and portfolios.

He loved leather and working with others, "especially the hundreds of young people who came for a job but also got a mentor or in many cases a surrogate uncle or father," said Oram. "He cared about all of those kids and gave hope and support, sometimes financial and always emotional."

After sales, Mr. Andre donated discontinued shoes to shelters rather than returning them to manufacturers for credit.

"He was a brilliant man who knew the definition of any word you could come across, very knowledgeable on many subjects and profound in his grasp of theology," said Oram. "Through his illness he never lost his sense of humor. He loved life, and life loved him back."

Also surviving are his daughter Matthea Andre of Seattle; siblings Judy Andre of East Lansing, Mich., and Peter Andre of Seattle; and a grandson.

Mass was said. Memorials may go to the Kidney Cancer Association, 1234 Sherman Ave., Evanston, IL 60202; or St. John Chrysostom Byzantine Catholic Church, 1305 S. Lander St., Seattle, WA 98144.

Carole Beers' e-mail address is cbeers@seattletimes.com