Her Inspired Watermark.

As the numbness of losing a sister is slowly lifted, I would like to take the time to thank everyone who sent their heartfelt affections towards all of us who love Patti.  We thank the friends that came from near and far to meet in NYC at St. Ignatius Loyola Church on the upper East Side. In this beautiful church, we could feel her presence in a new-found, spiritual way. There is no one who would have been more thrilled than Patti herself to see a gathering of the people she held closest and loved so much. 

For many of us, saying goodbye to Patti seems surreal. I hang over my thoughts, wondering what are the right words to articulate my love and affection for her truly beautiful soul. We met long ago during a time when youth extended a lifetime of opportunity ahead of us. Life would take us on so many adventures together. We would share a university experience in our youth, then be forever linked through a mutual love of family. We would carry our sisterhood into motherhood, a journey that is best traveled together. We are forever bound. So now, with so much left to share together, the void I feel is great. 

I am sure that so many that knew Patti's love and friendship also feel this void.  I want everyone to realize and feel heartened that Patti hasn't really left us. Patti was one of the most giving people that I have ever met. She gave a little bit of herself to each person she knew and loved.  She truly made the people who were lucky to know her feel welcomed, important and loved. Perhaps she shared with you her secrets to her uncanny ability to organize virtually anything. She inspired her sisters to dig their deepest and always see love above all else.  For her boys, she gave them the gift of her protection, courage and a love strong enough to last their lifetimes.  She taught my brother that life's struggles lead to life's many rewards. She shared a real love with him, one that was timeless and committed. For Patti, the warmth and friendships she found in California were a true gift she had been given. Now, she has come back to you in spirit and dwells in your warm sunshine.  Her gift to her fashionista friends came in the fact that she knew how to wear a tailored Calvin Klein ensemble and somehow made it look comfortable. In her distinguished years at Lancome, Calvin Klein and Coach, her close friends surely must have known it was her smile and not the blush, blouse or stylish leather purse that truly made the woman.  Each little gift of herself that she shared with you, now lives within you to carry on her spirit. I urge you to embrace her in your everyday. 

Glenn, Cooper and Glenny Jr, as long as you have the love of the people who knew Patti, than you still have her. Keep them close and you will thrive and feel her love everyday. 

I promise sister, that I’ll carry you with me each and every day, on adventures both great and small. Each photo will carry your inspired watermark.  I’ll keep watch over your boys. I’ll remember your beauty and be inspired to live by it.  The kind and loving nature that was your gift to others can live on in all of us.