My good buddy Patrick passed away last week, and today was his funeral, and so I thought that I'd post up some of my thoughts about the whole thing here, kind of as a memoir, or something. Patrick was an amazing friend to me, and from my very first day at Biogen Idec, we totally hit it off. He took me under his wing and was instrumental in helping me get through the first few months of working for the company, and welcomed me as a friend.
His kind an tender personality is something that I heard folks talk about over and over again today, you couldn't come in contact with the guy without feeling cared about in such a genuine way. I knew Patrick had impacted my life, but I was floored by the number of people who came to the funeral! I'm not surprised, though, he was one great dude. It's really comforting to know that now he is no longer in pain, suffering, and is in a better place. Really comforting.
He had a long battle with cancer, and he fought so so hard, but ultimately lost. I'm so proud of him for the character that he exhibited during the whole ordeal, and I am so proud to be his friend. Here's one of my favorite pictures that I have of him, taken one of the times we were out golfing...just look at that stellar form!
1975-2007
4 comments :
I'm so sad to hear that . . . I pray God's peace and comfort for his family now and always! Life is so fragile.
I'm so sorry Jeff. I'll be thinking of you and his family.
I miss him a lot. I'm glad you posted this for the world to read. Thank you. Thao Mai Lisa Nhan
Jeff, thank you for posting this, I came upon your posting when I was checking on a few old classmates from my junior high school on the Internet--well actually out of a dream I had a few days ago. I am saddened by the news that Patrick is gone, now almost three years later--I would've attended his funeral too. Patrick was in several of my classes. He always has that genuine and special charming personality that anyone who knew him would agree. He was the most popular guy in school and all the girls used to gush over him. I'm glad that he has a friend like you for support in his later years and in his battle with cancer, how long has it been and when did it all started? The last memory I have of him was him in his baseball uniform back in junior high. Do you have a few portraits of him? I would love to share them with his ex-classmates. He is and will be sadly and greatly missed by all of us.
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