Visitation will be Sunday, July 27th from 1-5pm.
Hickey Funeral Home
17131 Cleveland Rd
South Bend, IN
Visitation will also be Monday 10-11am at Little FLower Church
54191 Ironwood Rd
South Bend, IN
Funeral at Little FLower Church Monday at 11 am
Luncheon will follow where we will remember Pat. Everyone will have a chance to speak about Pat, to celebrate his life, to give words of remembrance. We encourage all those who have memories and thoughts to share.
In lieu of flowers, please consider giving to the fund which is set up for the children: Danny, Joey, Tommy, and Laura. You can go to any Key Bank branch or send donations to:
Benefit of Patrick Sawyer
Key Bank
South Bend, IN 46601
Sawyer family,
I am so terribly sorry for your loss. I did not know Patrick, but remember seeing him at First Unitarian Church. Nothing can bring him back, but I am sure that the good he did for you and our community will live on. He is an exemplar for us all.
My love and thoughts are with you.
Barb
Nancy,
There is nothing that can be said to help you through this time. I do not know you or your family but I ride my bike to work everyday and I am just sick to my stomach thinking about this. I am so sorry.
FWbikecommuter
In memory of Patrick Sawyer
My friend and paddling comrade Patrick Sawyer recently passed away. His passing was very untimely and has the paddling community and bicycling community in mourning and simultaneously uproar.
Pat is one of the best individuals that I have ever had the pleasure to meet. His kindness and exhuberance for life are unparelleled. He excels in nearly every aspect of his busy life. He first is a wonderful husband to his wife Nancy. He is an excellent father to his 4 children and lastly he is a great support to the community and society in general.
At the time that Pat was taken from us, he was weeks away from completing his Nursing degree which would have enable him to serve the greater good for many decades to come. He worked diligently for the past five years to make this dream a reality and while continuing to be successful in a variety of sports disciplines, he found the time to excel with his mind.
Pat was involved in many activities outside the home. It would be far to easy for me to list his accomplishments as a paddler, in which he was truly in the elite class, but those accomplishments pale in comparison to the much larger role he played. Pat and his wife created the South Bend Paddlefest and put together one of the best run events in the state. http://www.paddlefest.org/
As far as role models go, Pat is a shining example of what we all should aspire to be. With a careful balance of family, friendship and accomplishment all goals can be completed in their own time.
What a beautifully written tribute, Kurt.
I didn’t know Pat that well and it’s been a while since I’ve seen everyone in the canoeing community, but this saddened me so much when Brian emailed with the news. Devann, who has canoed since she was three (now 16) with her dad, really enjoyed her conversations with Pat and thought a lot of him. When I told her Monday night, she was so sad, but talked about those conversations. She reminded me of the time when he had two of the boys in the canoe with him and how loop-sided the balance was in the canoe while they raced. I remembered that as well. Those are precious memories for his children. You could tell he was devoted to them.
In their last conversation a couple months ago at a race, Devann told Pat how I “hated” the “fun” race that she and I raced in many years ago together at Paddlefest and how we did 360’s in the water, but eventually finished the race (I’m the inexperienced one). It was quite the experience and she & I won’t forget it. The Sawyers provided many memories to the community with their canoe races and Pat will be missed tremendously.
Nancy and Family,
I am a cousin to Julie Sawyer, Tim’s wife. My husband and I did not know Patrick but if he was anything like Tim, he was certainly a wonderful man. I’ve read so many of the accolades to Patrick on the web-site. Some very touching comments of what a great husband, father, brother and friend he was. Words can not express one’s feelings at such a difficult time. We pray the Blessed Lord will look over you and your children in the days and weeks to come and give you strength to carry on.
Our prayers and thoughts are with you.
Margaret & Chuck Righi
Grafton, WI
My prayers and thoughts are with you and your family although I don’t know you. Your story in the news has been heartbreaking. … Personal concerns with cycling safety have been a large part of my life the past year and I’m so very very sorry to learn of your loss.
“God asks no man whether he will accept life. That is not the choice. You must take it. The only choice is how.” – Henry Ward Beecher
I pray that the gifts of Patrick’s life and spirit and passion for life touch many lives..
“…The life of a soul … lasts beyond his departure. You will always feel that life touching yours, that voice speaking to you, that spirit looking out of other eyes, talking to you in the familiar things he touched, worked with, loved as familiar friends. He lives on in your life and in the lives of all the others that knew him.” -Angelo Patri
“Our Creator would never have made such lovely days and have given us the deep hearts to enjoy them, above and beyond all thought, unless we were meant to be immortal.” – Nathaniel Hawthorne
– Juliane Morris, South Bend
Nancy and Family,
I work with Mary at MHO and although I didn’t know Patrick personally, he has been in all of our thoughts and prayers. Nancy as hard as this is right now I wanted you to know that complete strangers to you and your family have been so deeply touched by this horrific accident. I have a 16 year old son who has just started driving and I thank you for the opportunity to discuss this very important topic with him. Sometimes it is easy for us drivers to be easily annoyed by a bicycle on the road that is slowing us down in our busy world. I am so sorry for you loss and pray for you all every day.
Tracy Agostino, South Bend
Nancy, my heart is so heavy for you and the kids. I am still trying to come to terms with what is the ultimate tragedy for a best friend to endure, but as a spouse, I can’t even begin to comprehend how you must be feeling. I have tried for 3 days to put to words just some of my feelings and am still not having much luck, so here it goes.
Ironically enough, the user name I created for Kris and I kind of sums up how I always thought of you and Pat. I never thought of Pat as as an individual, it was always PatandNancy. You two will always be the ultimate K2 partners. As many of our fellow paddlers will confess, the K2 is often referred to as the “divorce boat”. When paddling a K2, either you are in perfect harmony and absolutely loving the experience or you are completely miserable. As it is in a great marriage, in order to enjoy success, your timing and communication must be impeccable and both partners must be great forgivers. In the race, mistakes will happen and problems will arise but the teams that finish will be made up of 2 great partners. I know you and Pat have been through a lot in the last few years, yet every time I spoke to either of you, the future was always bright and each of you spoke of the others achievements and goals as if they were your own. The Sawyer family will always be a role model for my family and I only hope we can be as successful.
Nancy, my heart is is still broken for you and the kids. I am still trying to come to terms with what is the ultimate tragedy for a best friend to endure, but as a spouse, I can’t even begin to comprehend how you must be feeling. I have tried for 3 days to put to words just some of my feelings and am still not having much luck, so here it goes.
Ironically enough, the user name I created for Kris and I kind of sums up how I always thought of you and Pat. I never thought of Pat as as an individual, it was always PatandNancy. You two will always be the ultimate K2 partners. As many of our fellow paddlers will confess, the K2 is often referred to as the “divorce boat”. When paddling a K2, either you are in perfect harmony and absolutely loving the experience or you are completely miserable. As it is in a great marriage, in order to enjoy success, your timing and communication must be impeccable and both partners must be great forgivers. In the race, mistakes will happen and problems will arise but the teams that finish will be made up of 2 great partners. I know you and Pat have been through a lot in the last few years, yet every time I spoke to either of you, the future was always bright and each of you spoke of the others achievements and goals as if they were your own. The Sawyer family will always be a role model for my family and I only hope we can be as content and happy as yours not matter what the world throws at us.
I have been in Tennessee all week teaching class and have not been able to hold my wife and boys and tell them how much they mean to me. I hope everyone who knows Patrick and the love he has for his family will take time to tell their family how they feel during this difficult situation.
Love and Peace to you, The Petersons
O my God! O Thou forgiver of sins, bestower of gifts, dispeller of afflictions!
Verily, I beseech thee to forgive the sins of such as have abandoned the physical garment and have ascended to the spiritual world.
O my Lord! Purify them from trespasses, dispel their sorrows, and change their darkness into light. Cause them to enter the garden of happiness, cleanse them with the most pure water, and grant them to behold Thy splendors on the loftiest mount.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Sawyer Family
As time goes on my heart grows heavier for you. I want to clarify my earlier post. I in no way wanted my post to seem as an advertisement for my work. I hope that all donate to the children in leiu of flowers!!! I feel bad that i made it seem like an opportunity. This is such a tragic death that my heart is broken and I don’t even know the family. Please accept my heaartfelt sympathy and appology for being inconsiderate in earlier post. May The Good Lord Bless each and everyone of you during this hard time .
Nancy,
I am so sorry for your loss. I am heart-broken for you and yours. I did not know Patrick, but I know by all the ourpouring from this website that he was an amazing person who impacted the lives of many, many people. I am now one of those people. I can’t stop thinking of what you must be going through. I want to be there at this time and I know it won’t work for me and my family right now. I am sorry we’ve lost touch, but I am warmed to know that your life is rich and wonderful. You are such a beautiful person Nancy, and I send love, peace, strength and courage to you at this difficult time. (cry, cry, cry now….).
Andy Fena in Duluth, MN.
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