Obituary of Anthony "Tony" Patan

Tony Patan passed away in the Lloydminster Hospital on Monday, May 23, 2016 at the age of 78 years. Tony leaves to mourn his passing: his loving wife Lynn; Daughters: Lisa Tadgell and Shelly (Jon) Fox, Son: Darrell (Shaundel) Patan, Grandchildren: Damien Mercer, Jessie Tadgell, Tim Perrin, Shawn Perrin and Tyson Perrin, Jake, Aryn,and Alec Tadgell, Tyra, Jon, Jim and Jorja Fox, Savannah and Xavier Patan. Great-Grandchildren: Kaden Mercer, Ryan, Kailey,and Kellie Tadgell. Donations in memory of Tony may be made to Canadian Cancer Society or Canadian Red Cross. EULOGY Eulogy for Anthony Dan Patan as delivered by Jonathan Fox May 28th, 2016 Good morning and thank you for coming to share in this memorial service for Tony Patan. I am Jonathan Fox, married to Shelly and am proud and honored to be asked to present some insight and stories from myself and family members about the life of this humble, yet great man. Anthony Dan Patan, known by everyone as Tony; was born in Lamont, Alberta on April 4th, 1938 to Matt and Pearl Patan. He was the fifth born into a family of seven children. He is predeceased by his parents, Matt and Pearl; sisters, Rose, Doris, and Anne; and brothers Jonny and Bill. Tony is survived by his loving wife Lynn, sister Diane Pitman; daughters Lisa and Shelly (Jon Fox) and son Darrell (Shaundel). He has eleven grand children, three step grandchildren and four great grand children. The family homesteaded in the Greenwood District, just north of the city of Lloydminster, where Darrell and Lisa still have some of the family land today. Tony attended the Greenwood School until Grade 8, at which time he worked with his Father, Matt on the family farm. At this time I will share with you the words of Tony’s daughter, Lisa, as she remembers her Dad today. “Dad had fond memories of growing up on the family farm, just north of Lloydminster. He often talked about building a bedroom in an old granary with Uncle Bill. He often laughed about pranks pulled and good times shared with the other kids, and teachers as well. Music came easy to Dad. There wasn’t an instrument he couldn’t play. He utilized this gift by playing in a band on the weekends during the late 50’s and 60’s. This proved to be a great source of amusement for him and his friends. Many tales were handed down from their endless adventures. He would talk about arriving home just in time for chores, then working all day and going back out and playing again that same evening. Their band opened for some big names including Johnny Cash. Dad started dating Mom in 1961. It must have been quite a courtship. Dad would smile and Mom would giggle over various stories. They both have trinkets and momentos carried over from that time. They were married in July of 1963. Dad’s passion eventually changed from work and play to work, play and family. Mom and Dad met Lisa in 1968 at his brother’s house. They successfully jumped through all the hoops and brought her home a year later. Shelly followed in 1970 and along came Darrell in 1971. Our childhood was filled with good times and warm memories of Dad. It was a great day when we got to “help” Dad on the farm or in the green house. Endless hours were spent riding on the tractor, or working in the green house. Dad was so busy, but he never seemed to run out of patience with us. He always made the time to answer all our questions and explain why. -2- There were very few people in town that didn’t know who Dad was. If he hadn’t put in their flooring, he had sold them bedding plants. Shelly, Darrell and I were known as “Tony’s Kids” and were treated to a smile and a story of Dad from countless strangers. Dad worked very hard to give Mom and us three kids everything we could ever want. More importantly, he taught us the value of hard work. He also taught us the importance of having fun. Dad’s dedication of work was legendary, but so was his dedication to family and fun Weekends in the winter were filled with skidoo parties and our summers were countless weekends at the lake. There was never a shortage of great times and laughter in our world. Dad’s dedication didn’t stop there. He was a huge champion of donating blood. Dad didn’t have spare time, but he always made time for a good cause. Dad spent many years serving on the council for the R.M. of Britannia. He was very proud of making his mark around the community. The Greenwood Community Centre was very dear to his heart and would always remain a place of interest for him. In later years, Dad didn’t slow down at all. As our families grew, Dad just had more things to fix. He was always looking for a new project and we did our best to keep him going. The grand kids were very special to “Gido”. He always had patience and was always willing to teach them absolutely everything he knew. Our world is very full when we consider the legacy Dad left to all of us; but as we look at it today, it seems that our world is a much lessor place without Dad.” --------Now I want to share a couple of stories from Shelly and Darrell’s perspective. Shelly was her Dad’s side kick from the time she was a small child. She went everywhere with him. During the past five years, she has been mainly responsible for her Mom and Dad’s well being as they have retired and moved into the golden years. Shelly will always say that no matter what health condition Tony had, he never wanted to burden anyone. He had many serious health issues. Shelly spent many days traveling with her Dad to and from Doctor appointments and treatments in Edmonton. This served to make their bond even more unbreakable. One of Shelly’s fondest memories with her Dad was building the cabin at Little Fishing Lake. Tony and Lynn had become close friends with Ron and Norville Christie and their families. Tony picked his spot on the Christie Land and a deal was struck for him to buy a lot and begin building his dream. Through the summers of 1993 and 1994; Shelly and her Dad and the rest of the family were always at the lake busy building the cabin. Many fun stories and times were had by all at the cabin and still are to this day. Tony was always very proud of his cabin at the lake. -3- ----Darrell, being the only son to Tony and Lynn, has carried on the tradition of the family carpentry and construction business. He and Tony and Lynn made a deal on acquiring 10 acres of the family land so that Darrell could build his own home. He will always say that his Dad taught him everything he knows and deeply admired his work ethic. Never was this more evident than when Darrell and Tony set out to build this new house for Darrell and his family. Tony had taught Darrell how to lay flooring, remodel bedrooms, bathrooms and any general construction work, but when the first truckload of lumber was dropped off at the new building site, which was literally bare, wide open prairie; Tony looked at Darrell and chuckled, saying in his usual humorous tone, “What the Bleep are we gonna do with this?” Darrell was overwhelmed and I’m sure Tony was secretly too, but he said, “Don’t worry about it, Darrell; it’s just some hard work and time and we will build this home the way you want it.” Sure enough; from August long weekend in 1997 to February of 1998 it was built and Darrell and Tony saw the fruits of their labor to its successful end. Darrell is forever grateful to his dad for all his many lessons taught in the way only a father can teach a son. - From tying his shoes the Ukranian way; to riding his motor bikes and skidoo’s to tinkering on the many cars and trucks they fixed at home in the garage. --------Finally I wanted to give my own perspective, as a young man to becoming son-in-law to a great man and a tremendous family. Tony had lots of friends. People like Bernie Payne, Bryce Whitlaw, Allen and Pat Eggen, Lloyd and Verna Andrew’s, the Handle’s, the Stanley’s and of course there was thirsty Thursdays at Greenway’s. He loved to visit and tell stories long into the night and always after a hard day’s work I can honestly say I have never have seen a man compare to Tony when it came to getting the job done. He looked at everything as a challenge, but never something that couldn’t be done with a little hard work and a little time. I have so many stories, as we all do about our participation in his life; but I’m going to share one that I feel is funny but in perspective of life with Tony and Lynn. I was told this by Tony when I was about 20 years old and just becoming part of the family. I have never forgotten it. When Lisa was about four or five, Tony and his good friend Bernie Payne and his boys were building wooden graineries. At the end of the day they decided to have a drink. They didn’t have any cups, so the idea was put forth by either Tony or Bernie that they would pass the bottle of whisky, take a swig, then follow it up with a drink of pop. Of course the kids were only to have a drink of pop. Unknown to Bernie or Tony, Lisa had a few swigs from the bottle that was not pop.!! By the time Tony and Bernie realized what had happened, Lisa had become quite a talkative five year old, which they knew was not normal. Both Tony and Bernie were not sure how this was going to go over with Lynn at the house, so they chose Mark Payne, who was just a little bit older to take Lisa to the -4- house. Of course, every thing turned out fine, but I thought that this was a good story about Tony and his good friend, Bernie Payne. I wanted to share that as a teenager growing up in the late 80’s and 90’s, there was always a place to go on the weekends. Tony and Lynn were kind hosts to many of us in that age group. I think about that now as my own children grow up and I am thankful that we all had a safe place to go hang out. Tony usually knew your family, if he didn’t know you personally, and he was great to deal with as long as you showed him respect and played by his rules. I know many of us here today would like to say once again, “Thank you Tony and Lynn for opening your home to us.” In closing - Tony was a humble man, yet a proud man right to the end of his time with us. He was always thankful for what he had, for his ability to work hard and play hard. He was extremely proud of his children, Lisa, Shelly and Darrell. He was also probably the best Grandpa (Gido) a child could ask for. He had patience and love for each and every one of them. I believe one of his proudest moments came when Darrell and Shaundel had their baby boy, Xavier Patan, therefore solidifying the carrying on of the Patan name. My final thought is Tony’s never ending love for his wife of 52 years. Lynn was the best part of his life. Lynn and Tony took on the challenges, faced them together and created a beautiful family, and a story of love and friendship that truly marks the meaning of Marriage. Lynn was always at the forefront of his mind and he was always in hers. I am thankful and honored to have been given this task today. Tony was a man I have always and will always look up to. I want to apologize if I have forgotten to mention anyone, that I should have. It was not done intentionally, but when you have to talk about a life as full as Tony’s, there has to be a beginning and an end. I encourage you all to stay after the service and share your stories about Tony with us.