In Memoriam: The Passing Of Don Garlits's Wife Pat

Last week, while covering the upcoming Billetproof show in Ocala, Florida, we touched on some sad news regarding Don “Big Daddy” Garlits, the father of drag racing. Speaking through the Billetproof fan page on Facebook, it was reported on February 2nd by the big guy himself that his wife of nearly sixty-one years had passed away. The photo above is from an earlier release on Hemmings Blog.

Photo: Fremont Dragstrip

Living out her final days in the couple’s home in Ocala, it had been a long and arduous battle with dementia and Parkinson’s that eventually claimed her life. She is survived by her sister, her husband, two daughters, and grandchildren Kirsten Capitano Watley, Rodney Donald Garlits, Sarah Lyn Smith, Benjamin Gregory Capitano, and Anna Elizabeth Capitano; and great-grandchild Braden Alexander-James Garlits.

Patricia Louise Garlits, aged 79, was widely regarded as the “First Lady” of the drag racing world. She and Don shared a colorful history of building the sport from its humble roots to the nationwide pastime that it is today, dating back to 1952 when the couple first met at Lake Magdalene near Tampa.

Photo: Daily Commercial

“I took one look. She was the girl of my dreams,” said Don. She proved to be a stalwart wife and partner throughout most of Don’s racing career, standing by Don’s side during the bad times, like his near-fatal explosion in 1970 and blowover in 1986, as well as celebrating the good times in good fun, like Don’s historic 1967 win at the Indy Nationals where she handed her husband a shaving kit to celebrate his hard-won victory.

“Don had many close partners,” said brother Ed Garlits. “Connie Swingle, Art Malone, Tom ‘T.C.’ Lemons, Emery Cook, and a few others. But it was his lifelong partnership with a sweet girl named Pat Bieger from Tampa that was Don’s best investment. Of all the great blessings God can give a man, it is his soul mate, and Pat was Don’s.”