Thursday, February 4, 2021
My Uncle Pat was a brilliant man. He dedicated his life to God and Education. He was also a great chef. He made the best wild rice with sausage. It became a staple at every holiday meal (like Aunt Bea’s Ziti!) My first memory of Uncle Pat was when he visited us in Michigan. I couldn’t have been older than 4, because I celebrated my 5th birthday in Cherry Hill, NJ. I remember splashing around in the tub with lots of bubbles and accidentally taking in a big mouthful of soap. I started yelling/crying. Uncle Pat presented the solution – a giant Hershey bar to get that bad soapy taste out of my mouth. Another memory was when he visited me and Rose when we lived in Milpitas, CA. We had a tree with white peaches. I never heard of white peaches in 1989. These beautiful peaches were ripe and falling on the ground while we thought they still needed to get ripe (by the color we thought “ripe” looked like.) We had so little time to use these wonderful white peaches so we blended them into margaritas and daiquiris. It’s funny what memories surface! Uncle Pat was brilliant, loving and happy. He brought joy to all who had the gift of knowing him. I’m sure surrounded by love and happiness with his parents, brothers, my Mom and all who love him and have gone before!
