I thought everyone might appreciate a picture of Pat's tree planted in Berlin April 20th. I've included a copy of my letter read by Ryan Wirtz for the occasion. The picture was taken by Karen Kramer, Director of the Stanford Center in Berlin which has graciously memorialized Pat and will add a bench and plaque in the near future. Love to everyone from Pat's mom
Dear Friends of Pat, or more aptly, dear German family of Pat,
We are so very sorry to miss this magnanimous event which represents tremendous effort on the part of the Stanford Center. We are deeply moved that you hold Patrick in such high esteem as to memorialize him with a permanent spot in the Stanford Villa garden. By doing so, you are making him a visible part of your history—a history which includes the renown architecture of this beautiful villa, its destruction after World War II, and its preservation by the City of Berlin and now Stanford University. By planting this tree, you have linked Patrick to an illustrious rebirth. This house and garden, threatened with ruination, now cultivates the finest students in the world. We were honored that you embraced Pat as one of those students, and today we are astounded that you are now including him in your history. By allowing him to share this land with events of immense significance, you are in turn extending that significance to him. It is a gesture of permanence and regeneration for which we are deeply grateful. But more than that, it is an honor for Pat to remain part of such a fine institution.
Please accept our deepest gratitude for your kindness and generosity. Patrick himself could ask for nothing more than what you have given. He loved each of you with all of his heart, and his heart was the biggest part of him. He loved the school and the city. The love that he felt was why he was here. He couldn’t wait to come back after graduation last June. I remember asking him what it was that attracted him. “I’m having fun,” he said simply, and that was enough for me. But his version of fun was not simple. That’s what you are showing by honoring him this way. You are showing that he had fun by giving to others. He spread laughter and insights, and sometimes just really good jokes. Friends have told me he could have them laughing hysterically in the most serious of situations. This was especially true in a particularly dry music theory class at Tanglewood in Massachusetts one summer. Some wanted to skip the class. It was, after all, summertime. But Pat’s friends would go just to hold their heads in their hands with laughter at his elaborate exaggerations.
As Pat’s mother, I was not the recipient of many of those jokes, but I did absorb his passion. Let me recall a conversation we had last Christmas, which was the last time I saw him. We were returning some German books, which I had bought him for Christmas. Being the frugal person that he was, he didn’t want me to pay the added charge of buying them in the U.S. “They’re cheaper in Germany,” he said, and he showed me the difference between Euros and U.S. dollars.
“How did you learn to read them?” I asked stupidly. He knew that any language but English escapes me.
“You get the sense of it and then it just comes. You absorb it,” he said.
That was Patrick’s version of “having fun.” He absorbed your culture and your love. Thank you for giving him that opportunity. Thank you also for giving him this lovely, tangible presence at such a venerated site. He would be blushing right now if he knew. Instead, we will shed tears as we think of you paying this tribute. May God do for you someday as you are doing for Patrick today.
All our love and gratitude,
Patrick’s family
