One of the things that Uncle Bernie asked me to do when he was in the hospital in Great Falls was to help him plan his funeral and write his obituary...the other was would I give his eulogy. Sure. I would do most anything out of love. I thought I would post it here.
Bernard
Walter Patrick
Born
December 11, 1927 on the Rist Place just south of Goldstone, Montana
Died
November 9, 2012 – Bullhead City, Arizona
I
didn’t get much sleep the night Uncle Bernie died …but as I laid in bed I
allowed all the memories…and stories…and good times …to surround me…and give me
comfort…come take a walk with me and my
memories from that night.
Bernie
was a competitor...a natural born teacher…witty and charming…a teaser…ornery (a
familiar Patrick trait)…but loving. Bernie
had Grandma Sadie’s snappy brown eyes. Those eyes really twinkled when he thought
that he had slipped one by you….and he really liked a good joke.
He
was a collector of coins and beer memorabilia.
He liked the night skies…gardening… geology…dinosaurs…golf…and telling
stories.
His
passion though was playing bridge. He
was the first Life Master in
Havre…attaining the rank in 1966…playing many years with Dr. Jim Elliott. Even forty years later when we would play Chicago
at Joanie and Bernie’s house…when it was time for Doc and Bernie to be partners
you could just see time stand still…bridge is a game of communication…and those
very good partnerships can just pick up as if no time had ever passed.
He
loved playing with all the young and upcoming players over the years….Monty
Kuka…Ric Floren….I wish that I could name all of them..as I said…he was a
natural born teacher. I asked him one
time how he and Monty ever teamed up.
Well…he said, Monty was a very good golfer and he was just learning the
game of bridge….so he taught me some of the fine points of golf and I taught
him some of the fine points of bridge.
My mind drifted
off
as I thought about the first time that I ever played bridge with him. Joanie, Uncle Bernie, Uncle Wayne and I flew
to Mexico City to play in the Mexican Nationals. We decided that we were going to see as much
of the city as we could…play bridge…switching around as partners and go see the
pyramids.
When
it was time for Bernie and me to be partners we couldn’t play in any event but
the Super Open. I had hardly any master points
but I had to play up because of Bernie’s points. We
had to play against every pro in the world who wasn’t playing with a
client in the senior event. When the dust settled Bernie and I came in 4th
overall. How exciting for me to see our
names up on the board with all the famous pros.
You know that he carried me that day….he was just that good.
Up
until almost the moment that he died he studied the play of bridge. It was not unusual over the years…even when
he was in Arizona that my phone would ring…and when I answered..not even a
hello…he would say you are holding five spades to KQ….and finished giving me my
hand….the bidding has gone…and now it is to you…what’s your bid…and the lesson would
begin…always the lesson…
Joanie
and Bernie were an awesome partnership.
Yes it is true that there were words at the table…out in the smoking
area…after the game…yes it is true that there were lots of words…and thank God
because that gave the rest of us a chance at the golden ring. Those two
won everything…cleaned house…actually cleaned our clocks. They were an awesome partnership.
I
was fortunate to be able to travel and play bridge with them all over the world …Mexico…Cayman Islands…Canada…all parts
of Montana….Washington…and in Las Vegas.
Bernie
had two goals that he wanted to achieve after retiring…to win the Big Sky Cup
and to have a hole-in-one on the golf course.
He achieved both of those goals. The Big Sky Cup was awarded each year to the
Life Master who won the most master points at Montana tournaments. He grabbed the cup in 1996. And, the hole-in-one came on the #4 at the
Beaver Creek Golf Course here in Havre.
As the clock
slowly ticked past 1:30 a.m. a golf memory
flashed through my mind. One day I
stopped at the golf course to see how Bernie and Natalie’s games were
going. She was on the Havre High School
Golf team and he loved to practice her up…always the natural born teacher. Here comes the golf cart toward the pro shop pedal
to the metal…Natalie behind the wheel…and Bernie…kicked back having a beer. Apparently
it had been a good game for both of them. What a pair!
She loved it…every time they headed to the golf course…and I bet she is
booking a couple of tee times as we gather here today.
As the time
approached 2:30 a.m.
I began thinking about all the good times we had together on the Cayman
Islands. We would get up every
morning…walk to the beach in front of the condo…towel our chairs…then Bernie
and I would take a morning walk along Seven-Mile beach toward the Governor’s
House. My favorite though would be the walk
down the beach the other way toward the Holiday Inn where we would buy our
tickets to the party boat…head out to snorkel along the Cayman Reef before
going to Stingray City…one of my most favorite spots in the whole world…and
yes…we would suck up the Bahama Mammas on the trip home…singing along and
swaying with the Reggae music.
We always seemed to find the time to play bridge on the Caymans…as soon as I arrived…
Bernie would read the bridge results from the previous week to me from the
local newspaper…he got such a kick out of reading… 3rd place…so and so…2nd
place..so and so and “yet again first”
Joan and Bernie Patrick.
They
introduced me to the world of conch fritters…key lime pie…plantains… rum
cake... jerked pork…those delicious Jamaican breakfast sandwiches at Momma Creta’s…downtown
Georgetown…once and a while we would sneak in a Jamaican Striped Beer.
When the clock
read 3:30 a.m. I began to smile as I thought about all the
teasing and jokes – that existed in abundance in our family. He was the leader of the pack…and I thought
of Aunt Gladys celebrating her 80th birthday in Arizona …with many
of her siblings. The morning after the
big party the two early risers were Bernie and Aunt Gladys. Bernie was lounging
on the couch reading the morning paper. Gladdie was starting the first pot of coffee
for the day.
He
told me, that he looked up and said, “Gladdie, did you know that you are older
than Arizona.” He said she turned and
said, “What did you say?” His eyes began
to twinkle when he told me, “I said the newspaper says that you are older than
Arizona…as he held up the paper so she could read the headline - Arizona celebrates 79 years of statehood. He laughed and said, I finally got her back
good… after all those years… for the time she tricked me into running around
the house three times when I was a little boy.
I slowly began
to drift off…and
I whispered…Uncle Bernie, I would like to just play one more game of bridge
with you…and then I woke up with a start as I realized that …his spirit wasn’t
with me at that moment…he had taken Aunt
Beth by the hand and they had just found the room where a couple tables of
Patrick bridge was being played. I could
hear the laughter and the joking as they sat down with Uncle Cliff, Uncle Wayne,
Uncle Curly, Aunt Billie, Uncle Harold, Aunt Carol and Aunt Gladys to continue an
eternity of bridge games.
I
heard Aunt Doris laugh…and just knew that she, Aunt Ardys and my mother were
washing dishes and baking cookies…..
I
fell asleep hearing the clamber from past years as our family gathered together
for Christmas celebrations…birthdays…all the holidays…even a dance at the
Minneota hall…or a drive over to someone’s house for a visit.
As
I look around at all my cousins I think of how lucky we all are because we grew
up surrounded by all this love and attention that was showered on us by all my
aunts and uncles, grandparents – our whole family.
Thank
you, Uncle Bernie for everything….I love you.
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