Katie Brodie: Living large in a land of opportunity

HAYDEN LAKE — Some would assume that Katie Brodie grew up in the shadow of her legendary older brother.

Not so. Not even close. Katie grew up in the glow of all-pro quarterback John Brodie.

“I learned very quickly that growing up as the quarterback’s little sister had a lot of perks. Just the boys,” she said. “Being John Brodie’s sister was the biggest door-opener that anybody could ever ask for to say nothing of having a big brother who was the best thing in the whole world to this day.”

John was quarterback for Stanford University, led the nation in pass completions his senior year and was inducted into the College Hall of Fame. He was the longest-tenured player in the history of the San Francisco 49ers with 18 years as quarterback as a prolific passer and two-time pro bowler.

But his baby sister has also earned her stripes. Among other things, the sparkly-eyed, exuberant, 70-year-old mother of two helped launch and manage Jobs Plus in the late-80s, was chairman of the Republican Central Committee, served as a Kootenai County commissioner and currently as Gov. Butch Otter’s North Idaho field representative. She also served as the only female president of Hayden Lake Country Club, which occupies a special place in her heart.

Brodie’s roots in Hayden Lake run deep. While she was born and raised in the Bay Area, her family began spending summers in a rental home in Hayden Lake when she was 6.

“That was the connector,” she said. “Hayden Lake was a pretty cool place for two teenage boys and a snotty 6-year-old. We had the time of our lives.

“In 1953, Hayden Lake Country Club was small. It was intimate. Everybody knew everybody. I had all the freedom in the world.”

For her brothers, John and Bill, summers at Hayden Lake were paradise.

“They were acting like the world was their oyster. They were playing golf, waterskiing and chasing pretty girls in Hayden Lake and Coeur d’Alene.

“So Hayden Lake always had a great feel for all of us. It was just a special, special place. And to this day it still is,” she said.

Still, the thought of moving permanently to North Idaho didn’t initially appeal to her. But that’s precisely what her parents decided to do when she graduated from high school in 1964.

“I was a spoiled brat, a California girl. I came kicking and screaming,” she said.

Brodie enrolled at North Idaho College, which led to an adjustment in attitude.

“I liked the whole educational setting,” she said. “I liked going to class. I had great friends.”

Then there was a sudden stroke of luck. When her father realized that the 49ers games wouldn’t be broadcast on local television every Sunday, her parents returned to the Bay Area during the football season, leaving 18-year-old Katie to her own devices.

“It kind of cramped my style when they came back. Our house was empty on Hayden Avenue and I was living at NIC. So we did have a party or two,” she said.

“The timing and moving to Hayden Lake was probably the best thing that ever happened to me,” Brodie said. “I met genuine people. It was just a whole different atmosphere.”

She acquired a real estate license and went to work at Coeur d’Alene Realty for owners Tom and John Richards, who she knew from her childhood at Hayden Lake.

“They ran around with John and Bill. I was a little tagalong,” she said. “And it hasn’t changed. John Richards will tell you today I’m still a tagalong. ‘We can’t get rid of her.’”

Actually, just the opposite is true. The Richards brothers later recruited Brodie away from Jobs Plus primarily to help them develop two housing projects. She still helps manage their financial interests and occasionally travels with them to Palo Alto to take in a Stanford football game.

Following a trip to Europe, Brodie met Jack Beebe who was a pharmacist at the time and is now a Realtor. They dated for about a year when he proposed.

“Nobody had done that so of course you say yes,” she said. “It was just a perfect thing. We both loved Hayden Lake. We loved each other. We had a great marriage for 10 wonderful years.

“I think the nicest thing that Jack ever did was the day our daughter, Brandie, got married. We had both since remarried. About halfway through the father/daughter dance Jack got my current husband Pete (Hohman) to finish the dance. There wasn’t a dry eye in the place.

“I thought that was the greatest show of class I’ve ever seen,” she said.

Brodie said both her feet are permanently planted in North Idaho, but she has left part of her heart in San Francisco.

“I still have some good, good friends down there,” she said. “They come up to visit and are just amazed at Hayden Lake and Coeur d’Alene. They say, ‘How can you keep this such a secret? It’s the best place I’ve ever been.’”

Brodie obviously agrees — not just for the natural beauty but for the opportunity.

“This community offers the world to anyone who wants to take advantage. You can be and do anything you ever thought of being or doing. I have loved being involved and I still do,” she said.

“So I’m 70 years old. Sometimes I think maybe I should be thinking about retirement. But what a horrible thought.”

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Know a longtime local we should feature? Send your suggestions to Ric Clarke at clarke_ric@yahoo.com.