Remembering Patti
One morning earlier this month, I wrote Patti Carpenter’s name down on a list I was working on for an event this season. She would want to be there, of course.
The next day… I learned Patti had passed away.
For a lot of us resting in our summer bubbles in or out of town, news of the passing of our Boca Raton gal….a Boca Raton great….was shocking. And just a short time after our community’s loss of another Boca great, former mayor and always supermom, Susan Whelchel.
Susan Whelchel, Paige Kornblue, Patti Carpenter and Nicole Flier (George Snow Scholarship Fund’s Inaugural Boca’s Ballroom Battle, 2008)
Patti and I had just texted in the spring. We went back and forth about the sad loss of a mutual friend and the challenges of my divorce and life in general. “You have endured so much with your beautiful mom, a precious lady, and then your dad. If you need anything, please let me know XO.”
That was Patti.
That was Patti for so many of us in this town and beyond.
She was always there to provide an encouraging word and a helping hand or to share a funny story, a dance, a toast and certainly a cocktail.
St. Joan of Arc’s Father Michael Driscoll said it best at her funeral mass today when he said “God gave her energy, zeal and the means to help others. She could’ve sat back and enjoyed what she had….”
But she didn’t.
Patti Carpenter was a mover and shaker and yet, she did so much so gently… a wonderful mix of poise and oomph.
For decades, Patti Carpenter inspired us all not only through her volunteer work and philanthropy but also through her friendship, sportsmanship and commitment to her family and community.
It was just as much fun visiting with her on the tennis court as it was all dressed up and fancy at a gala. She helped put so many charities on the map, on the right track and into our hearts… from Boca Raton Regional Hospital’s GO PINK Luncheon to the George Snow Scholarship Fund’s Boca’s Ballroom Battle to Chris Evert’s Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic, Lynn University, the Boca Raton Historical Society, the Junior League of Boca Raton and the American Cancer Society… just to name a few.
Patti never let us forget the important stuff.
And she never let me forget that she’s known me since I was in my mom’s belly…!
What an honor that I can say that now.
And what an angel she continues to be.
Each person’s mission is a mission of love…Begin in the place where you are with the people closest to you. Make your homes centers of compassion and forgive endlessly. Let no one ever come to you without coming away better and happier…at the hour of death when we come face to face with God we are going to be judged on love: not how much we have done, but how much love we put into the doing.
-Mother Theresa
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Patti’s honor may be made to
GO PINK, Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation, 800 Meadows Road, Boca Raton FL 33486