Patrick Herbert Patterson

What can I tell you about your Grandfather. I could tell you the normal stuff. He was born in Dallas, Texas on November 17, 1945. He was raised by his mother and grandmother. He went to Catholic school until he entered Austin High School. He was very talented and played the piano and violin. He sang in the Austin High School Choir.

But that's not really him. He was a loving and caring individual. A bit of a lady's man. Women were attracted to him because of his gentleness. The fact that he was good looking helped too. It was always a joke that an old girl friend called him the night before we got married and another called him on our wedding night. He was gentle but there was a strength around him. You knew you could depend on him.

He taught himself the guitar and at one time in late 60's, I heard, he was considered the second best guitar player in Austin. He was also a very talented artist.

He was very poor as a boy. His mother worked for the phone company at night. That way she could walk him to school in the morning and then sleep while he was in school. His grandmother would be there when he came home from school. His grandmother did the cooking and his mother did the cleaning. Granny cooked old fashioned country food. Patrick always said he was eating soul food before there was soul food. He did have a problem with oatmeal. He had it almost every morning growing up so he would never eat it as an adult. During that time he had a close friend named Orville Anderson. Orville grew up to be your mother's Godfather. His wife, Nancy, her Godmother and one of my closest friends.

He was funny and loved to drive your mother and me crazy with his jokes. He had your mother convinced that the cabinet in the garage would make her disappear if she got in it. We loved to laugh and we did lots of it in our marriage. I remember one time your mother was sick so I asked him to bring me a two Bayer (baby aspirin) from the back of the house. When I looked up, here comes Patrick skipping down the hallway with two teddy bears under his arms saying, "But you asked for two bears."

He was extremely intelligent and love to read. He would read anything. He was interested in everything. From history to science fiction. He read anything and everything he could. He may not have finished college but he continued to learn until he died. He taught himself surveying and became a Registered Professional Surveyor. Yet he had a lighter side too. He loved the orient and the martial arts. When we were dating, we loved going to the drive-in and watching Bruce Lee on the screen. Of course, he also loved the bad kung fu movies too. In marriage you have to take the good with the bad.

Your Grandfather loved his family more than anything else in the world. We were everything to him. He was a little afraid about having a little girl, but she became his darling. He was crazy about your mother. We had always teased Patrick about being born with his mustache because he always had it. After we started the surveying company, he decided to grow a beard. Your mother would love it when he held her down and rubbed her check with his chin while his beard was growing in. Your father worked for our surveying company while he was in college and become a member of our family long before your parents got married. You Grandfather really like your father and was happy to have him in the family.

As you know, Patrick was the love of my life. I so want you to know the real man but it's very hard to do because he was very complex. He was deeply religious and believed in God with all of his heart. He was gentle and loving. He loved to rub my feet. He had a strength that when things were bad, and he held me, I knew that everything would be fine. We loved to stay up late talking and watching terrible movies. The type you shake your head over when they are done and wonder why you stayed up. But we knew it was because we just wanted to be together. He wanted to give me so much that I had to be careful what I asked for because he would find a way to give it to me. We loved working together but I knew when it was time to send him to the field and get him out of the office. We could sit and talk for hours about nothing and enjoy every minute of it. We loved to hold hands and kiss. (Sometimes we embarrassed your Uncle Tom and your mother but we didn't care). We told each other I love you often and meant it each time. Even after almost 24 years of marriage, I still got that special flutter in my stomach when he walked in the door.

We were looking forward to having it be just the two of us. All the things we wanted to do together. Patrick was so excited about having grandchildren some day. He was excited about having someone new to tell his stories to. He was even thinking of new ones to spring on you. Unfortunately, that was not meant to be. But I know that he is here watching you grow up and is very proud of you.