IN LOVING MEMORY

JERRY PATRICK

1953 - 2009

Wow you are never expecting to get that call to say someone has made their home going, but when it is one of your closest and best friends it takes on a significantly different meaning. It effects the very core of your life from that moment on.

(pictured here the first person on the right)

This year I lost Jerry one of my two best friends in my life. No warning, no feeling just an awkward phone call to say he was found dead. Alone and discomforted, he passed away from complications of kidney disease and diabetes. Jerry was a fun loving bashful character who served in the US Army in Germany where he became very fond of cigarettes and beer. He was a financial acquisitions professional for Anne Taylor for the past 12 years.

Personally, I was very angry with Jerry for not saying bye, not having one last hurrah together in Santo Domingo, just one more weiner schnitzel and beer at our favorite German Restaurant. Most of all I felt profoundly alone, confused and afraid for my own immortality. Consciously I appeared to be fine but emotionally I was a wreck. I stopped taking my own diabetes medication, slipped into not shaving or giving a damn. Finally becoming so ill I had to be hospitalized where I realized I had to pull it together.

Only now am I able to say Jerry "I loved you my brother" thank you for being my friend, my brother and partner in crime. I cherish all the great moments we had together, thank you for understanding how I felt when I lost my boo and thank you for being in my life while you were.

Rest in peace and may god always hold you close.