Pat Acuff: A shy guy who loved real estate

COEUR d’ALENE — Everyone has at least one deep-seated secret.

Pat Acuff confided that his secret is shyness.

Shyness? Really?

This is a guy who played for years in a popular rock band, is surrounded by a huge group of friends dating back to high school, has served in public government and professional leadership roles, and owned and operated a real estate company in Coeur d’Alene for two decades.

“I’ve always felt that about myself,” he said. “I think I’m a lot shyer than most people realize.”

Acuff said he suspects his quiet, demure nature has misled people who don’t know him as being distant or aloof. And shyness may explain why he never married until age 50.

“Nobody thought I’d ever get married, including my dad,” he said.

But it has worked out well. In 1994 he was introduced to a real estate client named Heidi. They were married six months later.

“It was kind of a whirlwind deal,” he said.

A year later their son, Colby, was born.

“They are the best two things that ever happened to me,” Acuff said.

The 72-year-old Realtor and Heidi, also a Realtor, are quite comfortable in a waterfront home on Fernan Lake that Acuff has owned for 37 years. They have no plans to uproot and move anywhere

“They’re going to have to drag me out feet-first,” he said. “This is where we are.”

Colby, now 20, is Acuff’s hunting partner for ducks and pheasants as well as a source of pride for his musical prowess. Colby is a country/Western guitarist and singer and is rapidly climbing the ladder.

“I enjoy going and watching him probably as much as I’ve enjoyed anything my entire life,” Acuff said. “It’s a kick. It’s a lot of fun.”

Acuff’s career has always been real estate and only, only in Coeur d’Alene. His father, Joe, moved to Coeur d’Alene in 1939 from southern Idaho and established Acuff Realty on East Sherman Avenue in 1945. His mother taught herself how to type and was secretary of the fledgling business that had one salesman. At age 10, Pat was the janitor.

“I emptied the trash and cleaned out the ashtrays on Saturdays,” he said.

He grew up with an older brother downtown not far from where the former Acuff Realty building still is.

“We’d take our bikes down to Sanders Beach in the morning and when the whistle blew at Potlatch (lumber mill) it was time to go home,” he said. “Our parents never checked on us. It was a great place to grow up. I’ve always been lucky my whole life ... to be born here in the ’50s and grow up in Coeur d’Alene. Unbelievable.”

High school, he said, was “a blast.”

“For some reason, I always had lots of friends. We had about 30 guys that ran around together in some form or another. It was a great experience,” he said. “We had lasting bonds, which we still do. It’s pretty amazing. I have friends from back East or the Midwest from the high school days who come out and play golf. That’s just the way we are, I guess. Lucky that way.”

Acuff graduated from Coeur d’Alene High School in 1963 and enrolled at the University of Idaho, studying business with a major in real estate.

“Since the sixth grade I had this thing. I always wanted to be in real estate,” he said.

In college he also played drums in a rock band, the Contempos, which played at sororities and fraternities as well as Coeur d’Alene’s popular and raucous bar — Rathskillers — with big-time Seattle bands like the Cascades.

“I had a ton of fun doing that and made some money. It was a kick,” he said. “We all got $19 a night and all the beer you could drink.”

He graduated from college in 1967 and went directly to work for his father, which resulted in a few of bumps in the road.

First, his father wanted him to go to Tacoma, Wash., and work for a high-powered real estate company for the experience and the exposure.

“I was real resistant to that. I didn’t want to leave Coeur d’Alene. So said, ‘I think I can make a living here. I think I can do just fine. And I don’t want to move out of Coeur d’Alene.’ So that’s when I realized I’m not going anywhere,” he said.

Second, real estate meant he had to part with a passion from high school: Corvettes. His father insisted he buy a four-door sedan to chauffeur customers around. But Pat still owns a 1962 Corvette and chances are you’ll see him cruising with the top down north on Highway 95 during Sandpoint’s Lost in the ’50s celebration.

And third, working in the family business exasperated other character traits aside from shyness — moodiness and stubbornness.

“My mother told my brother that it was a good thing he was born first because if I was born first there wouldn’t have been any more kids,” he said with a smile.

It caused Pat to clash with his father, who had some of the same personality.

“It was a little tough for 10 years. We just butted heads on small things. Looking back on it, I would say 90 percent of it was my fault. I was pretty stubborn,” he said. “But we finally got it ironed out and it worked, but it took a while.”

His father retired in 1980 and Acuff bought the business just as Coeur d’Alene’s economy was collapsing in a major and lengthy recession.

“That was just about as tough as it could get,” he said.

Acuff Realty was sold in 2001.

Over the years, Pat has served the community as president of the Board of Realtors and the Idaho Association of Realtors as well as Avondale Golf Course, and eight years as a councilman on the Fernan Village council and another eight years as mayor.

He still owns Acuff Investment Co. and stays active in commercial real estate. And is more than happy with his lot in life.

“If I died tomorrow, I’d be grateful for all I have and all the friends I have and the life I’ve had,” he said. “It’s been a super trip, and a lot of that is due to Coeur d’Alene and its personality and the personality of the people.”