Peter Kilpatrick

Born and raised in Washington State, owner Peter Kilpatrick always knew he wanted to build and over the years he indulged his passion. Growing up on the then rural south end of Mercer Island, Pete was famous for his use of challenging materials in an endless series of forts. From a steel framed dome during his years at The Evergreen State College, to the San Juan Island cabin built in 1972 of recycled wood from a turn of the century schoolhouse, Pete opened the tap of his imagination and let ideas pour out. A growing family and the need to express his developing architectural vision found Pete building his "big" house when a fire destroyed the cabin and hurried the vision along.

Pete atop Pigeon Spire

Pete made the leap from Ravenhill Woodworking to Ravenhill Construction and a company was born.

Pete and his wife Becky have made significant contributions to the San Juan Island community. Becky owns and teaches in the much loved Foxglove Preschool located in the barn at the bottom of their beautiful garden. Pete, a volunteer fireman for over 20 years, is active as an officer for the Eagle Crest Station and as a member of the rope rescue team and wild land fire crew. Pete is a member of the Advisory Board for The Community Land Trust, which provides low cost housing on San Juan Island. Pete often refers to his participation as "my other job."

Pete and Becky have two children. Daughter Madeline is working on her masters of Social Work at Smith College after teaching 2 years of English in a rural college in China. She is enjoying living in L.A. interning at the Kaiser Center. Son Adrian is living in Guadalajara, Mexico finishing up his degree in art & design, and studying Spanish.

Shelle Cropper
As office manager, Shelle Cropper is a vital member of the Ravenhill team. She performs the enormous task of keeping the company organized and is constantly looking out for the best interests of our employees and clients. She brings great integrity and gravity to her role and is also much appreciated around the office for her kindness and wit.

A native Northwesterner, Shelle loves the rainy, windy, gray days when it's hard to tell the difference between the water and the sky. She thanks the goddess that there are only about three days a year when the temperature gets over 75 degrees. A graduate of The Evergreen State College, with a teaching degree from Western Washington University, Shelle spends her real time writing, quilting, gardening and learning to play the violin.

Shelle and her husband Ellis, a fisherman and longtime member of the Ravenhill team, have two beautiful children who grew up with their gang of cousins on San Juan. Her daughter Isla is a third year student at Oregon State University. She is an accomplished rider and horse trainer who plans to major in animal science. Son Sky is looking forward to his third year at Friday Harbor High School while fishing with his father in Alaska.

TJ Wilkinson
TJ joins Pete and Shelle in the office where he works as project manager and foreman. He is involved in every aspect of a new home, from start to finish, and is often the first person that clients meet when their project is taking flight. He brings with him 22 years of building and engineering experience and the team is constantly appreciative of his diverse expertise both as a builder and businessman.

In his spare time, TJ enjoys boating and fishing and loves going home in the evenings to his wife and children. His family recently welcomed the addition of a healthy baby boy; Flynn Ryder Joseph Wilkinson. It's clear from the various photos around TJ's desk that his new family is his true pride and joy.

Joe Cooper
Joe Cooper is our cabinetmaker and interior finish foreman. Located in the shop attached to the Ravenhill office, he is involved in all aspects of the business from researching health care benefits to encouraging efficiency. Joe brings confidence, skill, artistic vision and a bit of humor to every project he undertakes. Look for more about Joe's work in our new section on the Ravenhill Cabinet Shop.

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Joe graduated from Connecticut College with a degree in botany. He owned Joseph Cooper Designs, a cabinet shop in New York City for 4 years, and then began his trek, via a cabinet shop in the high desert of New Mexico, to the Pacific Northwest.

Joe says that he is like an "...old salmon, migrating back to his origins," an east coaster who found his true home in the west. Joe and Paula, an accomplished potter and artist, got married and then built their house near the little pond on MacGinitie Road. Joe continues to gather inspiration from sons Eli, age 6 and Otis, age 9 who are now exploring the world of competitive sports. Both are enthusiastic baseball and soccer players who are enjoying their last days of summer before starting another year at Friday Harbor Elementary School.

Dan Bacon
Dan Bacon has spent 16 years as a Ravenhill interior finish foreman. When a house has been "baconized" it achieves a level of perfection rarely seen in the construction world. Dan continues to impress the crew with his patience and incredible attention to detail on a progressively more challenging series of projects.

Moving from New Jersey, Dan and his family joined his mother and sisters on the island. Dan, Frances and their four children participate in this community in many ways. Dan is an EMT and helps teach first aid and CPR classes. Frances works for the Journal of the San Juan's and both have been active in The Spring Street School (a private middle/high school). Their oldest son Daryl, continues to pursue a modeling career and has been featured in an advertising campaign for Calvin Klein. He is now at home helping a friend with a building project while playing in a local marimba band. Bronwyn, is a graduate of The Evergreen State College and is preparing to attend Bastyr medical school in the fall. Ceradwen, is focusing on her artwork while curating for local artists in Seattle. Youngest son Trefor is a welcome seasonal member of the Ravenhill crew and is headed off to begin college at Santa Clara in the fall. Dan and the whole family recently took an awesome tour through Italy and came home with hundreds of spectacular photos and some pretty entertaining stories. Dan's spare time finds him collecting tools, hiking, fishing for salmon and spending quiet moments with Frances reading in the evenings.

Lloyd Thompson
Lloyd "the hammer" Thompson has been with Ravenhill for about 17 years. An interior finish foreman, Lloyd has worked on many of our most complex projects. He is the acknowledged master of the concrete countertop. The crew really appreciates Lloyd's positive attitude and cheerful demeanor. Whether singing, joking or relaying an urban legend or story from his past, Lloyd knows how to get the job done and have a little fun while he's at it.

Lloyd, Myah and their daughters, Sorelle and Juniper moved to the island from Humboldt, California. They bought 10 acres and built a beautiful little house at the edge of San Juan Valley. Lloyd's interests include identifying birds, collecting exotic woods and growing roses.

Lloyd and Myah recently surprised their friends and families by getting married in Hawaii! They returned home and threw a fantastic island party filled with music, dancing, drum beats and laughter. More than a few people shed a tear of joy for one of the island's most fun couples.

Jerry Price
Jerry Price has been a foreman with Ravenhill for almost 12 years. An experienced carpenter, he owned his own company; Price Construction, in Southern California. Jerry's first job for Ravenhill took him to the west side of the island. As he watched the orca whales chasing salmon in the Straights of San Juan and eagles nesting in nearby trees, his comment was "...they call this work?". Jerry and his wife Jody have three kids and are very involved with the schools.

Terry Whalen
Terry Whalen is our newest foreman at Ravenhill. He has been with us since August of 2006. Terry may be new to Ravenhill but he is not new to building. Terry has been working in construction for over 20 years. He spent some of that time as a carpenter, nine years as a general contractor in the Portland, Oregon area, and many years operating heavy equipment. So, Terry's experience takes him from the site development stage all the way through to the last finish nail being carefully pounded in place.

Terry and his wife Gretchen Shaw are currently building a new house off of Portland Fair road. "I'm always either building or remodeling something," says Terry with a laugh.

Besides building, Terry's passion is SCUBA diving. He holds instructor level SCUBA certifications from 7 certifying agencies, four as an instructor trainer. he has been diving for about 28 years and has dove all over the northwest from Alaska to California. Terry recently obtained a commercial Captains license, and also has his pilot's license.

Chris Wisniewski
Chris Wisniewski has been working with Ravenhill for almost 15 years. He started work in 1992 on a large project on the eastside and has worked on many projects and islands since. Chris grew up on the East Coast, attended Lock Haven University, then went to Wooden Boat Building School in Seattle. While attending school in Seattle, he fell in love with the Pacific Northwest. Chris' hobbies include bike riding, traveling, and tinkering on his own place on Schoolhouse road.