My mother Mary Patrick, who inspired me to run for office, passed away 8/18/2011. I gave this eulogy for her at the wake.

I want to recognize my sister Maria who did a superb description of my mother?s life in the obituary:

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/08/mary_coppola_patrick_the_mothe.html.

Anyone who reads it will know that my mother was a very accomplished woman who loved life. She had a positive impact on the lives of her children, her grand children, her constituents and many, many people. I would say that she had a positive impact on everyone she met but some might disagree. Let?s just say that if you were on the receiving end of one of her diatribes, it certainly had an impact on you.
She loved babies and children. When I said my final good bye to mom and told her that she didn?t have to hang on for us?we would be fine, she was happy?but when I told her that her granddaughter Lisa was flying in from the west coast and grandson Matt was flying in from Hawaii, she began to cry. She said it was her only regret, not being able to follow the lives of her grandchildren and great-grand children as they grow up. But I?m sure that she will.
My brother Charlie wrote a great poem which I would like to read:
Mom! Mom! Wake up. You're ok now. You've broken through to the other side and it's all good now. Spread your wings and fly or ride a comet in the sky. We love you Mom. No more pain. No more tears. No more grief and no more fears.
What a heart you had here on earth. Now GOD will guide your spirit first and place you among the many stars. Rest in peace? I don?t think so. There he'll have you helping out with the poor down here, the sick, those with doubt and those without. He'll send you out to touch their souls in ways much easier for you than before. He'll arm you again with the energetic kindness, compassion and love you showed here on earth but x10 and with no end.
You live in us and us in you. You've left us your determination and your fortitude. Gosh Mom, you are an amazing soul. Thank you for life, love and faith. Soar with the angels and spread peace, kindness, compassion and love. Your spirit in us will help us to keep up the good fight and power our hearts. We?ll meet again. Happy trails for now Mom. God certainly knows who you are.
Not bad for a guy who grew up skinning muskrats in the cellar. The last line is Charlie?s reference to our little in house joke. You see my mom had a habit of asking total strangers that were ignoring her or giving her a hard time, ?Do you know who I am?? God will certainly know who she is and if he or she doesn?t, I?m sure Mom will tell him or her.
That reminds me of a joke that reminded me of my mother when I first heard it. A heating technician who happened to be working on the heating vents in the ceiling of the parish church saw his grandmother saying the rosary in the first pew. She couldn't see him, so he thought he would have a little fun. He whispered, ?Mrs. McCarthy, this is Jesus. Can you hear me?? There was no response so he whispered a little louder and still no response and finally he just about yelled it. His grandmother finally said, ?Just a minute young man, can?t you see I?m talking to your mother.?

My mother Mary Patrick who inspired me to run for office passed away 8/18/2011. I gave this eulogy for her at the wake.

MASS-CARE Honors former State Representative Matt Patrick

Former Representative Matthew C. Patrick of Falmouth was honored yesterday at the annual meeting for Mass-Care http://masscare.org/. Patrick was recognized for his sponsorship of the Single Payer Health Care bill last session. The award reads, "In Recognition of Outstanding Activism and Leadership for Single-Payer Health Care."

Mass-Care's Executive Director Ben Day said Patrick also deserves recognition for his efforts to make the House of Representatives a more democratic institution.

See it live here by cutting and pasting the following address into your browser: www.statehousenews.com/video/10-12-16farewells-patrick/

Greetings to all my colleagues. Thank you for everything you do to make the Commonwealth a better place. Only we who have undergone the rigors of the elective process and the demands as elected representatives will know just how challenging it is.

It?s never easy to lose an election because it is such a public process. You can?t hide when you are given the news. You must face your supporters and the press and put on a positive face. Yet, lose I did after five terms in the House. I can honestly say that I did what I thought was best for my constituents without regard for the future and that is perhaps what cost me the election in the end. I have no regrets.

Rep. Patrick and Colleagues Push Feds on PACE Boston

Rep. Patrick and 108 colleagues sent a letter today pushing Federal law makers to support legislation that would force FHFA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to adopt standards that support PACE. Property Assessed Clean Energy, PACE is a program enabling cities and towns to acquire funding through bonds to help residents finance two types of improvements in their homes: energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy improvements. After loaning the money out, the municipalities will place a betterment charge on the homeowner?s property taxes. The homeowner will get the benefit of low cost financing for their energy project that will allow them to capture other government incentives. An added benefit is that if they decide to move the new owner will take over the payments.