This is Mary, Nancy’s sister, and Pat’s sister in law, although I feel much more like Pat is a real BROTHER to me. I wanted to write to let everyone know about what a truly wonderful father and husband Pat is, what an awesome human being. Our entire family is very fortunate that Pat is a part of us, part of our daily lives, part of our hearts and part of our souls. We miss him VERY much, and look forward to him returning home soon!
I don’t see it mentioned much in the stories about him, but he is a father of four children. Pat and Nancy have 3 boys ages 14, 12 and 10, and a sweet little girl who will turn 8 next Saturday, and who sure hopes her Papa will at least be awake to share in her birthday. He is also a father figure to my 2 boys, ages 16 and 12 – they lost their father at a very young age, and Pat has filled that void in their lives.
Pat is very active in the lives of all of the children, running, biking, kayaking, hiking with them – doing something active with the kids every day that he is able to find the time in his busy schedule. Not only does he spend time with his kids, he uses his precious time to sit down and have long talks with me and my boys, is there to answer questions my boys have, goes to their swim meets and soccer games, trains with them, etc. And he is like a brother to ME, always interested in how my day was, eager to discuss nursing things (I am a nurse also), and a kind and smart listener whenever I need someone to bounce things off of.
He is also a wonderful, kind, caring, considerate husband to Nancy. She is a very wonderful person as well, and they make the perfect couple. I just want the whole world to see how wonderful Pat and Nancy are, and to know how very very much we all miss him.