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Saturday, December 8, 2012

RIP Patricia Gagne

I got some really bad news the other day.  Do you remember Pat, the woman to tended the Scotts Flat Parking Lot/Boat Launch a few years ago?
Pat (Patricia) arrived in Nevada County about 6 years ago.  She had finished raising her kids back in Philadelphia, and set about to find a place where she "fit" in the new phase of her life (post raising kids).  Somehow she landed in Nevada County, and lucky us!  I met Pat down at the boat ramp when she took the summer job of managing/wrangling the boaters, would be campers and kids sneaking into the beach without paying, and the legit beachcombers.  Pat was honest, kind, authorative without being bossy, and just one of the most genuine people I ever met.  I liked her on sight.  She parked her "hippie VW bus" in the parking lot, and created a little garden of Eden around it.  She and her little dog Cricket lived in that parking lot in that VW bus all summer until she had enough saved to secure housing.  Cricket was a darling little rat terrier who had the knack of curling her lips back and giving you a giant smile when you said "hey Cricket." At the end of a work day, Pat and Cricket would launch their Kayak and do their daily lake tour.  It was a wonderful summer of martini's, bbq, laughs and friendship for us all.
 After summer Pat rented a cute place on East Main St. from Caroline and Mike Inglis, with whom she had formed a friendship. Pat had a great sense of style, and volunteered at the Zion Cancer Thrift.  There she scored really cute furnishings and knick-knacks and furnished her rental with that cute thrift store chic.  We all gathered for dinners there in fall and winter.  Again, I can't tell you how much we all enjoyed her and Crickets company.
Pat worked the lake concession the following summer, but then moved on to other jobs in the county.  She worked at Weiss Brothers Nursery, and as was her style, worked hard and honestly, and endeared herself to everyone there.
Pat decided to stay in Nevada County.  She often told me she found the people here interesting, fun, and real, and it was a friendly fun place to land.  She was happy.  She found a romantic relationship with a man, and as that sometimes go, we saw less of her, as he saw more of her.  Our loss, her gain.
A little over a year ago I guess I lost track of Pat, and life goes on . . . . .
When we were seeing more of each other I met her daughter from San Francisco (her name escapes me) and Pat told us about her son Julian MC Cullough, an aspiring stand up comic.  When I would catch him on TV, I would make her a CD to watch later.  He is a very funny "G" rated comic, and the spitting image of his mother.  She was very proud of him.
Last week I saw that Julian had a weekly show with another comic, Whitney Cummings.  It's called
"Love you, mean it" on E channel.  I called Caroline Inglis to say, "hey, Pat's son has a show."  Caroline said, "I still can't believe she's gone."  WHATTTT?
It seems Pat Gagne was diagnosed with cancer in November 2011.  She succumbed to cancer February 2012. I did not know.  She was young, 57, she was beautiful, she was smart, and she was gone.  I can't find any obituary, no news of her passing.
I wanted to write this because I think some of you might have known Pat (if you were lucky) and maybe wondered what happened to her.
So, CHEERS to you Pat.  Please know you were loved in Nevada County.
Your friend forever, Denise