Eulogy

My friends and I just got back from New York last night.

The services were filled with love and tears. But there was still something there apparently impossible to keep down - laughter. His family opened their arms to all of his friends, knowing that we were another side of PK's family. We shared a lot of stories that haven't yet made it to the website and all of them made us laugh. His mother, Helene is an irish spitfire - very emotional but strong and supportive of everyone around her. Simply amazing. We're looking forward to being with a number of them next week, when they fly out to LA to deal with the logitistics of Patrick's apartment, etc. They also really wanted to come to the memorial/tribute on Nov 4th.

I've gotten a copy of the eulogy that his sister, Katie, delivered at the church service on Saturday. It was incredible how it captured who Patrick was, and what he meant to so many of us. I was kind of hoping there were things that I was going to be able to say that the family wouldn't know - but Katie covered everything I was thinking. It was delivered through tears. I am thankful that Katie offered to have it posted on this website. I hope that you can take a few moments and read this beautiful eulogy.

***

Standing here in front of all of you, I'm so afraid I won't honor Patrick the way I should, the way he deserves to be honored.  How do I convey to you what it was like to have had the privilege of being the sister of someone who could light up a room? How would any of my brothers and sisters do the same?  And how would our mother, who was always his biggest champion, even begin to describe the sheer joy she felt having him for a son?

I'm sure most of you know just how lucky we were to have had him in our lives because it only took a few minutes in his presence to realize there was something special about him. And in that few minutes you began to feel special yourself because he had a way of making you feel so important, and it seemed that he was giving himself totally over to just you.  And you couldn't get enough of it. His nieces and nephews can tell you that each one of them was made to feel like they were his favorite, because each one of them was.

Patrick's personality was so unique. It was like no other we've ever known.  There is no one we can think of that was quite the same, and we have known this since we were children. Our memories are flooded with scenes of us laughing together, playing together, getting in trouble together, just growing up. And as adults we knew our time together was so precious that when he would come home from California he would try to make time to stay with as many of us as he could. He was our little celebrity, and everyone wanted a piece of him.

Patrick could be hysterically funny simply by opening his mouth and speaking, or making a gesture that was so "Patrick".   It wasn't an effort, or something practiced. It was just the way he was. You were always so excited to just experience his life alongside him, and you knew that if you were going to be spending any time with him, you were going to be entertained because no matter where you were going, or what you were doing, he was not going to hold back. Whether he was renting a Hummer for our Mom to make one of her dreams come true or throwing himself a 40th birthday party with all the trimmings, Patrick went all out.  Life was his stage and we were all blessed enough to have been his audience, and his biggest fans. He went through life knowing what most of us do not know.  You need to live each day as if it were your last. Everywhere he traveled, every food he tasted, every wine he sipped, every movie he saw and every life he touched along the way only made him want to experience more. He squeezed more out of life in his 42 years than most of us will if we live to be 100.  He couldn't wait to see what the rest of the world had to offer. And he desperately wanted everyone else to share his experiences.  He would say, "Oh my God, you HAVE to try this!"  or "You HAVE to go see this movie! What a howl!!"   Maybe his desire to share his experiences is what brought him to his love of photography.  What better way to share his view of the world? 

Years ago when Patrick moved to California he surrounded himself with people that would eventually become family.  We are all are so grateful to them for being there and building their lives around him.  Many of them are here with us today, and we grieve as one, united in our common love for this gifted, generous, joyous man, who was anything but common.

So now that God has decided that he wants our sweet Irish Patrick in heaven, for reasons unknown to us, and even against our will, we find we are in no position to argue. But what are we supposed to do without him? How will we ever be able to fill the emptiness that we are all feeling? Honestly, I don't know if I can answer that.  The only thing I can think of is to try and live life a little more like Patrick did. Maybe if we laugh a little harder, take a few more risks, share our gifts with the world, touch more people?go out and make our mark, remembering how short and precious life is, a small piece of Patrick will live on in each of us.

Slan go foill Padraic, agus beannacht leat mo chuisle dearthair.
(Slawn go foyl Pawrig, oggus bannockt lyat muh kwish-la drih har).

Goodbye for now Patrick, and God bless you darling brother.

***

Comments

[Michele Wioskowski]

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for sharing this beautiful dedication to an amazing man.

[Paul L.]

I did not know Patrick but after reading the comments on this website, he sounds like a wonderful guy. My condolences to all of his family and friends. I have taken the liberty of adding a memorial for him on findagrave.com

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=12168797

Feel free to add pictures of your own to the page (it is free) or if there is more information you'd like me to add to his bio, email me and I'd be happy to add it.