Obituaries

John Patrick "Pat" Maher passed away peacefully, surrounded by his children, at his home in McLean, Virginia, on September 20, 2026. He was 83. He was preceded in death by Martha, his wife of 54 years. He will be remembered as a dedicated father, husband, and public servant.

Pat was born in Washington, DC, where his mother, Maree Fleischer, raised him and his sisters, Marty and Karin. Pat graduated from Kaiserslautern American High School in Germany, where he was a member of the National Honor Society and the football and basketball teams. He attended the College of Wooster, volunteered for the Peace Corps in Colombia, and completed a master's degree in foreign service and international relations at Georgetown and a PhD (ABD) at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Pat and Martha married in 1971. They lived in Colombia initially, before returning to the United States to raise their three children in Arlington, Virginia. They also completed a two-year post to Brasilia from 1986 to 1988.

Pat devoted 35 years of public service to the US intelligence community. His colleagues appreciated his exceptional drafting and briefing skills, his powerful work ethic, his collaborative nature, and his rich, unfailing sense of humor. Pat served in several senior intelligence positions, including overseeing the President's Daily Brief and holding the role of National Intelligence Officer for the Western Hemisphere. There was no better mentor to the political analysts of today.

He is survived by his three children, Colin Maher (Meghan Oldfield) of Canberra, Australia; Lindsay Snyder (Geoff) of Piedmont, California; and Katy Hedquist (Nick) of Washington, DC; his sisters, Marty Keffler of Leesburg, Virginia, and Karin MacKinnon of Carolina Beach, North Carolina; and his grandchildren, Zoe, Violet, Kieran, and Rowan.

A memorial service will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington on April 12, 2027 at 11:00 AM.