NW country music artist Patrick Haggerty passes away at 78

Fans of the Northwest country-folk band Lavender Country are remembering singer-songwriter and gay rights activist Patrick Haggerty who died Monday morning from complications related to a stroke.

He was 78 years old. Haggerty grew up in Port Angeles, Washington.

In an episode of the NPR series StoryCorps, he told his daughter Robin about a memorable conversation he had with his father in 1959.

"When you're a full-grown man, who are you going to go out with at night? And I said, 'I didn't know.' And he said, 'I think you do know and it's not going to be that McLaughlin girl has been making google eyes at you, but you won't even pick up the damn telephone,'" Haggerty said.

"Don't sneak. Because if you sneak like you did today, it means you think you're doing the wrong thing. And if you run around, spending your whole life thinking you're doing the wrong thing, then you'll ruin your immortal soul.

"He knew where I was headed, and he knew that making me feel bad about it in any way was the wrong thing to do."

Haggerty says his was "the patron saint of dads for sissies."

Haggerty and his band Lavender Country released their self-titled album in 1973, considered the first gay-themed country album. The album was paid for by Gay Community Social Services of Seattle. Only 1,000 copies were initially produced. The band went on to perform at Seattle's first gay pride event in 1974.

Soon after that, Haggerty took a decades-long break from performing. In an interview this year, he said Lavender Country put a scarlet letter on his back, so he went and had another life.

Haggerty eventually returned to performing. In recent years, he became popular with a new generation. Lavender Country released its second album, "Blackberry Rose," in 2022.

KUOW's Dyer Oxley contributed to this article.