Celebrate the Life of Pat McDermott

Pat was the life of the party, he was a joy to be around, he was always the one with the biggest smile, he was always the one with the most infectious laugh, ready to tell you the funniest story that would have you in stitches. 

Pat was also a trouble-maker, pulling pranks, flipping people off that would cut in front of him in traffic and much, much more. 

But Pat was most importantly a son, a brother, a husband, an uncle, a father, a grandfather and a friend that always had your back, through thick and through thin, which is why we all loved him so much. 


As most of you may know, Pat was diagnosed with ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease) back in May 2017, and on Sunday, April 22nd, he passed away from that disease. He was without pain, comfortable and surrounded by loved ones whom he gave a final chance to say goodbye. 

His final wishes were fairly straightforward, he didn't want a somber and sad funeral..he wanted a memorial service at the church he went to school in and got married in...AND he wanted a party! And why wouldn't he? After all, he wanted us to celebrate his life the way that he chose to live it, filled with plenty of good food, with good music, with great stories and with great people that he loved most to be around.

In addition to a kick-ass party, he also wanted to continue the kindness and generosity he exuded his entire life by making sure he could contribute to making sure that no one else's "party" has to end prematurely, like it did for him.  So, he donated himself to science after he passed, in the hopes that he could contribute to research to help end  ALS. 

So, in the spirit of Pat's final wishes, we are setting a goal to raise funds for three purposes. The first is to cover the cost of a service at Incarnation Parish in Queens Village, NY. The second is to help us cover the cost of a party complete with all the food and fixin's and good times that we can have while celebrating his life in the way he would have intended. And the third and final purpose is to take any remaining funds we raise and donate it directly to ALS research, so that a cure can be found for this terrible disease as soon as humanly possible. 

Any help you can provide to us, his family (a.k.a. Magoo's Marchers...a long story we can tell you about at the party) would be immensely appreciated! We're looking to hold his memorial service in mid-to-late May, so we are in the midst of planning now. Any support you provide will be withdrawn by Pat's eldest son Patrick, who will then work with the rest of the family to make the appropriate arrangements for the service, the party and the donation. 

Thank you all so much for your support and for helping us to celebrate Pat in the way he would have wanted.