Tribute

On January 17, my precious husband Pat passed away peacefully with my brother Bill and me by his side. Pat was born in France in 1951 to a US military father and a French mother. They moved to Ohio when Pat was a baby, but Pat remained proud of his French heritage. As a young boy, his parents sent him to France each summer to stay with his grandparents, and Pat often recounted stories of fun with his cousins in the French countryside and trips to the boulangerie with his beloved grandfather. After graduating from high school, Pat worked at the Packard Electric division of General Motors in Ohio. While there, he earned his Electrical Engineering degree by taking night classes at Youngstown State. Pat moved to Arizona in 1984 via a transfer from Packard Electric. He headed the Test Engineering department of Tooh Dineh Industries, an electronics manufacturing plant on the Navajo reservation. In his final hours, he expressed how happy he was that he could mentor young Navajo engineers and that many went on to fruitful careers. In 1989, Pat hired me, a recent college graduate, as a Test Engineer. He’s not here to argue this point now, but it was love at first sight, and we married in 1991. Our honeymoon was an amazing trek in beautiful-beyond-belief Nepal. We were bitten by the travel bug and explored the world when time allowed. In 1999, we sold everything, bought a blue-water sailboat, and moved to San Diego to live aboard. For five years, we worked in the Medical Device field to build our cruising kitty, prepare the boat, and hone our skills. In 2005, we sailed south. Over five years, we explored Mexico, Central, and South America. Our travels were not only coastal but inland too. We explored every country in Central America and most countries in South America, down to Ushuaia at the tip of South America. In 2010, we sold our boat and bought a “land” home in Clarkdale, AZ. After two years of remodeling and landscaping, we were traveling again. In 2012, we hit the road in our Subaru with dear cruising friends to see several Western US National Parks, visiting other cruising friends along the way. In 2016-17, we explored Southeast Asia and Europe. We saw many major sites, but Pat especially loved the small towns and villages and found joy in meeting new people in foreign lands. Pat was a passionate photographer. I’ll never tire of seeing his favorite photos of our travels on the walls of our home. He loved VinoHiking, Disc Golf, Rock and Roll, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and, to a lesser extent, the Browns, but who can blame him? Above all, he loved me more than I can imagine anyone loving another person. The hole in my heart is huge, but I’m not the only one who feels this loss. Pat was a sincere friend to many, who also share my grief. Rest peacefully, Sweetie Pie.

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