‘Truly inspiring’ Tri-Cities special ed teacher is WA umpire of the year at 76

Most people, when they reach a retirement age in their 60s or 70s, think about slowing down.

Take it easy. Stop and smell the roses. Forget what day of the week it is.

But this is not Pam Bobiles’ philosophy.

“If I don’t do what I do, I’m gonna get fat and lazy,” said Bobiles, who at 76 is still going strong.

Now a grandmother, she still teaches special education at Stevens Middle School in Pasco.

At one point, for 10 years, she was a foster care parent, with some 200 to 300 kids finding refuge at her Richland home.

And when people start thinking about slowing down in their late 50s, Bobiles did the opposite. She started umpiring softball 20 years ago — both fastpitch and slowpitch — and she officiates well over 200 contests a year.

The Washington Officials Association — the organization that oversees almost all sports officials in the state — recently named her the Official of the Year for slowpitch softball.

“We are incredibly proud of Pam and her accomplishments,” said Pasco School District Superintendent Michelle Whitney. “Her commitment to our students and athletes is truly inspiring, and her passion for both education and sports has made a lasting impact in our community.”

Bobiles was not looking for any awards. But she was pleasantly surprised to be honored.

“I was proud about the award. I still don’t know who nominated me,” Bobiles said. “I’ve been all over the state doing it. Other umpires know me.”

Softball was her first love

Umpiring became the natural progression for Bobiles over the years after she was a player.

And she continues to play softball when she can, participating in the Tri-Cities Senior Softball league games in the summer.

In 2023, she played on a softball team that won a gold medal at the Huntsman World Senior Games.

The 1966 Richland High School graduate started playing softball when she was 8 — well before the time of Title IX, a civil rights law in the United States that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receives funding from the federal government.

“My brother, Jeff, was in Cub Scouts, and I would go to his practices,” she said.

One of nine siblings, Bobiles was the catcher for Jeff, who pitched. Later in the game they would switch positions.

“In high school, we had something called the GAA, the Girls Athletic Association. I missed the window when Title IX started,” Bobiles said. “But I got to see my youngest daughter play in Little League.”

Bobiles continued to be an athlete after high school.

“Fifty years after Title IX, Central Washington College — now Central Washington University — gave me a plaque for my softball and field hockey accomplishments,” said Bobiles.

But her first love in sports has always been softball.

“Softball,” she said, “has done a lot for me.”

Including umpiring.

It all started innocently. Bobiles was a teacher and coach at Bethlehem Lutheran School in Kennewick.

The umpires assigned to her private middle school contests were new to the sport. Bobiles had to explain a number of rules to them.

So one day, Bobiles had an idea.

“I asked the local umpire in chief (UIC) if I could start umpiring the Bethlehem Lutheran games so the kids had a decent umpire,” she said.

Instead — being the smart UIC that he was — he convinced Bobiles that she should umpire for everyone.

Bobiles, at 56, took the bait.

“He put me in 16-and-under games right away,” said Bobiles. “I went to Wenatchee for a tournament, and I had a tight strike zone.”

But over the next 20 years she continually improved. Her work includes four national tournaments, as well as numerous state, district and regional events.

One of her proudest moments? “One year, I got to umpire with one of my daughters.”

Bobiles has umpired in Washington Interscholastic Activities Association events for both slowpitch and fastpitch softball.

Last spring, she worked the WIAA state slowpitch tournament in Yakima.

55 years teaching

Bobiles has taught for an astounding 55 years in various districts and schools, including the last 18 in the Pasco School District.

She has taught students of all ages, from infant and toddler programs to K-12, as well as early childhood education classes at Columbia Basin College.

“I taught 26 years in general education,” she said. “But I always wanted to teach special education in my life at some time. I had a brother who couldn’t go to school. My dad taught him to walk at the age of 8. I always wanted to do something to honor Steven.”

So, in her late 40’s, Bobiles decided to change course.

“I got a scholarship to study for my certification through Heritage College,” said Bobiles.

It took her two full school years — while she was teaching at Bethlehem Lutheran — and an extra summer to get that certification, working on Friday nights and Saturdays every week.

But in order to use the certification — and not have to pay back the scholarship money — she had to move from private school to the public school sector.

So she left her job of teaching third and fourth graders at Bethlehem Lutheran and took a job working at Emerson Elementary in Pasco.

She was there for six years, and then moved over to Chiawana High School, where she spent another nine years.

She’s currently in the middle of her fifth year at Stevens Middle School.

No slowing down

It’s hard to measure the heart of someone. But it’s safe to say Pam Bobiles has a big one.

She still lives in the same house she grew up in as a kid.

There are nine other people — nearly all relatives like daughters, sons-in-laws, grandkids — who live with her.

She and her then-husband raised three daughters and adopted two boys.

For that 10-year period, her home was always open for foster children.

But today, besides her family, the two biggest loves in her life are her students and softball.

“My sixth, seventh and eighth graders, they have a voice in what we do,” she said. “I track behavior first, and academics second. But we explain everything they are going to need to know in life, like how to keep a job.

“I get a lot of satisfaction working with them,” said Bobiles, who still gets a lot of former students visiting her. “They want to know that you’re listening to them, and you are interested in them.”

As far as softball, Bobiles will schedule vacations around softball.

“I love softball,” she said. “I really don’t have any answers to why. Except that I’m outside. I get to meet new people. And it keeps me going.”