Friends for Life

By Judy Mallegol Cardanha (Pat's BFF)

Pat and I shared many cups of tea through the years. In fact, I gave her a teapot many years ago -- a pastel pottery with a matching stainless steel tea cozy to keep the tea hot.

We met freshman year at Sacred Heart High School in Yonkers, NY.  In the special issue of the school newspaper for our graduation, each grad had a list of such things as "favorite song." Most people had some current hit, but Pat and I had both chosen "You'll Never Walk Alone," from Carousel. Quite a coincidence! We toured local colleges together and, with two other classmates, decided on the College of New Rochelle. The Sobierajskis were kind enough to let Pat drive the family car every day to get the four of us there [and she was the only one with a driver's license at that point  :)  ].

CNR had a great influence on our lives, and Pat volunteered many hours for the College. She looked forward to each 5-year reunion. Below is our 40th Reunion in 2003. First picture shows Pat with classmates Noreen Deane and Patty Maher and one of our favorite teachers, Sr. Mary Dowd; second shows Pat with Charlotte McNeil King.

In mid-September 1962, just before our senior year at CNR, we went to Atlantic City with my great aunt Helen and her friend Marie for a long weekend.  One dinner was at Captain Starn's Restaurant. Pat had quite a tan that year.

Other than being a cheerleader in high school, Pat was interested in drama. Nearby Iona College had a very good drama club, and Pat was busy there for our four years in college. And she met Tom!!

After graduation, Pat started working in a special library at a Manhattan advertising agency [I think] and began getting her library degree. We talked about getting an apartment in the City, but neither of us had much money, and paying rent wouldn't have left any money for traveling -- and travel we did.  We went to Cape Cod, then Nantucket, Montreal, Washington, DC, and wherever various friends invited us. And in August 1966, Pat and my sister Jane and I sailed on the SS Rotterdam to Europe.  Here's the Bon Voyage party in our cabin [when you could do such things]. Pat is far left.

We spent a few days in London, then drove through Oxford and Stratford-on-Avon on our way to Liverpool to visit my mother's old friends, the Kearneys. Picture shows Henrietta Kearney, Jane, Pat, and me.

We also went to Paris, Lourdes, Barcelona, Madrid, and Lisbon, with many side trips, and flew home from Lisbon. We made sure we could order "tea with milk" in each language. The biggest challenge in each place was figuring out how to flush the toilets -- many variations in '66. I remember Pat trying to use her Spanish in Barcelona to ask for clothes hangers and saying "colgadero" over and over; the hotel person just stared at her, but finally said "O, colgadero," as if that wasn't what Pat had just said. We just shook our heads.

Boyfriends, engagements, and weddings came in the next few years. Pat and I were bridesmaids for each other, my wedding being on 10/10/1970 [Pat on right].  Pat had to wait until after Tom was born before she could get her bridesmaid's dress made! Three weeks later, for Halloween, she used the dress for an angel costume.  :)

We got together at the Brimfield [MA] Antique Fair in July 2003. Pat was looking for a particular-size corner cupboard, which she never found, and for white pottery to add to a collection. She's checking out plates here.

Some other tidbits I remember -- Back in the day, her favorite movie was The King and I; but I don't remember how many times she saw it. And she loved The Bridge on the River Kwai.  /  Every Holy Saturday morning, Pat and our friend Pat Kulaga came to our house with the food that had been blessed at St. Casimir's and shared some with us. My youngest sibling Paul still jokes about it at Easter time . . ."Have Pat and Pat been there yet?"  /  We gave some fun parties together . . . one was a Halloween party at which pairs of people had to make costumes out of newspaper and brown paper bags; another was a Christmas in July party with a tree and gifts for everyone.

That's it for now.  I hope they celebrate birthdays in heaven.   Happy Birthday, Pat.