Patrick D. Haggerty

Patrick D. Haggerty, age 54, of Glendive, passed away on Friday, April 6, 2007 at his home in Glendive. A Life Tribute Service will be held at 2:00 P.M., Tuesday, April 10, 2007 at the United Methodist Church in Glendive with Celebrant Sandy Silha officiating. Interment will be in the Dawson Memorial Cemetery in Glendive. Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home of Glendive is entrusted with arrangements. Pat was born on November 12, 1952 in Circle, Montana, the son of Daniel and Lorraine (Colby) Haggerty. He was raised and educated in Lindsay, Montana, and graduated from Dawson County High School in Glendive with the class of 1971. Following his graduation, Pat went to work with his dad at Dan Haggerty and Sons Water Well Drillers. He married Carolee Gehnert on August 9, 1976 in Glendive. Pat drove truck for Murphy Produce. In 1986 he started working for Frank Eaton and Sons and continued to work there until the time of his death. He enjoyed touring the countryside on a "Sunday drive" with his beloved dog, Chopper. Pat also enjoyed hunting, camping and working on his cars. Brockway Dairy Days was a favorite annual event for Pat. He was a member of the Glendive Moose Lodge #949. Pat was preceded in death by his father and his daughter, LaVonne Haggerty.. Survivors include his wife, Carolee of Glendive; his mother, Lorraine Haggerty of Lindsay; his son, Jory Haggerty of Glendive; his daughter, Tiffany Haggerty of Great Falls, Montana; his sisters, Judy Parrish of Missoula, Montana, Carol Robinson and her husband Ike of Moyie Springs, Idaho, Diane Lovaas and Anne Sadorf and her husband Bill, all of Glendive; his brothers, Mike Haggerty and his wife Yvonda of Glendive, Jeff Haggerty and his wife Vickie of Billings and Larry Haggerty and his wife Lois of Glendive; his father-in-law, Harold Gehnert of Greycliff, Montana and his mother-in-law, Kay Gehnert of Glendive; numerous nieces and nephews. Life Tribute Service: Today we gather to remember the life of Patrick Dennis Haggerty. Pat’s sudden and unexpected death at age 54 makes us shake our heads, feeling it is too soon for him to be gone from us. But in the busyness of life, we don’t think about the fact that… “human beings do not live forever. If we measure our lives against eternity, we live less than the time it takes to blink an eye. So it may be asked, what value is there to a human life. What does it mean if our lives are nothing more than the blink of an eye? The blink of an eye is, in itself, nothing. But the eye that blinks that is something. A span of life is nothing. But the man who lives that span, he is something. He can fill that tiny span with meaning, so its quality is immeasurable although its quantity may be insignificant.” (exerpts from Chaim Potok) Pat Haggerty’s life, although too short, had a quality to it that immeasurably touched the lives of those around him. The number of family and friends here today, speaks to the quality of the man we knew and the significance he had in our lives. Pat’s wife, Carolee, his son Jory and his daughter, Tiffany, will be lighting a candle to honor Pat, as a husband and father. The light of this candle signifies the ever-present love and memory of Pat, which will always live on in the hearts of his family and friends. Let us listen to Marla McCormick play and sing “One Day At A Time” as Pat’s family comes forward to light this candle. Candlelighting and Song: “One Day At A Time” by Marla McCormick Celebrant: Eulogy Pat’s mother, Lorraine, made an observation about her son that seemed to be evident throughout Pat’s life. Lorraine said that when you thought of Pat, the first thing that came to mind was how much fun he was, but he always had his trials, too. Pat’s sense of humor was apparent in his 8th grade autobiography, as were references to some trials and tribulations he had already endured in life. When Pat mentioned being in the middle of a large family of siblings, those siblings might tell you that Pat was great at teasing and tormenting them. Pat was a great instigator of trouble, and Lorraine tells of resorting to the long reach of the broom to maintain order amongst the kids. But Pat would just run and laugh. He had great fun trying out ideas to see what would happen, such as throwing rocks high into the air to see where they would land – on his forehead; or piling a tricycle on a wagon with a brother perched atop it all and pulling it around the yard, much to his mother’s dismay. And Pat always gave his mother a bad time about having to do the most chores because his name was the shortest and easiest to yell for to get something done. And he would do it. One of the early trials of Pat’s life, mentioned briefly in his autobiography, was the time he “got lost at the fair in Terry.” Pat’s parents, Lorraine and Dan, had loaded up the station wagon with the kids and extended family, about 11 or 12 altogether, and headed for a day at the fair in Terry, Montana. After arriving at the fair, people got separated a bit, and when it got time to go home, Dan and Lorraine loaded up the station wagon and headed home. Dan soon noticed a car following, blinking its lights. Finally Dan stopped to see what the problem was. A man got out of the car behind Dan, holding a sobbing Pat, who had gotten left behind. Being left behind really put a scare into Pat, and according to Lorraine, he stuck to his dad like glue for quite a long time after that. It was a memory that remained with Pat throughout his life. One of the highlights of Pat’s life was meeting and dating his future wife, Carolee Gehnert. Pat was out of high school and visiting a friend who was a neighbor of Carolee’s. Pat and his friend were discussing which one should ask Carolee out on a date, and Pat decided it would be him. Over he went to talk to Carolee’s father about this very thing. Now Carolee was about 16 at the time and the eldest daughter. Pat was made to endure a two hour lecture from Carolee’s father before approval was gained for Pat to date Carolee. On the first date, Pat and Carolee were escorted by Carolee’s sisters and a few cousins. This group date continued for several dates, before they had any time alone. Some of this could be blamed on Pat’s appearance. Carolee’s mother, Kay, tells of seeing Pat for the first time riding her daughter Val’s horse down the road and of her asking who that “hippie” was riding Val’s horse. Well, Pat Haggerty, of course. Pat loved horses and it sure was a good thing that the Gehnert’s had horses. Carolee also had a ’69 Chevy SS. Carolee insists that Pat made his move before he knew about the horses and the car. Besides, anyone that would go through a two hour lecture and then date a girl who brought along sisters and cousins, was serious about the girl. It wasn’t long before Pat was helping with the chores on the Gehnert place and milking the cows. Carolee’s brother, Gene, has good memories of Pat taking him to the Haggerty house, and letting Gene hang out with him, even staying over nights and helping Pat when Pat would go out to drill wells with his father. When Pat and Carolee were in the early years of marriage, Gene, his Mom and sister went through a tough time. Pat and Carolee didn’t have much themselves, but did all they could to help out, and Gene remembers the sacrifices they made for him. His feelings towards Pat are more like a brother’s, than a brother-in-law’s. Pat is truly loved by Carolee’s family. Except maybe for Grandma Tillie. Here Pat’s old teasing habits came out. Grandma Tillie Gehnert was a feisty lady, and Pat enjoyed getting her riled up. While drilling a well at one of her neighbor’s farm, Pat had to go by Grandma Tillie’s house each day. Pat and Grandma would exchange words and it even ended up with Grandma Tillie throwing rocks at Pat as he would laughingly go on by. But the family members who really enjoyed Pat were the kids, his own and all the nieces and nephew. At family gatherings, no one worried where the children were, they would be where Pat was. He would play with them, and sometimes, to their delight, would instigate some naughtiness, which they could all enjoy. Pat and Carolee always welcomed children to join them for a drive-in movie or any activity that they might be doing. Pat’s son, Jory and daughter, Tiffany, enjoyed many a giggle and laugh with their father over some silliness. Jory remembers watching WWF wrestling and practicing moves on Pat. Pat in turn would eventually pin Jory and not let him up, making Jory yell for his sister’s and mother’s help. Summer vacations were spent camping as a family, and in the fall, hunting was a favorite activity. Jory recalls a lot of hunting but not a lot of shooting. Pat enjoyed driving the back roads and knew them all from all the wells he had drilled in the area. Gene does remember one hunting trip with Pat and they even got a deer. After each shooting the poor buck about 5 times and not killing it, the buck turned and charged at them, chasing them around the pick-up. Pat ended up tackling the deer and using his knife to finally put it out of its misery. Pat seemed to enjoy the hunt more than the kill, as he didn’t like the sight of blood much. When Pat wasn’t camping or hunting, he enjoyed spending his spare time working on his cars, the ’69 Chevy and a ’69 Ford pick-up. Carolee swears that she was sure he would wash the paint off over the years, as much as he loved cleaning them. And Pat loved to drive. Didn’t matter whether it was a work truck, grain truck, drilling truck, his cars, motorcycles, whatever. He always insisted on driving. And when Pat would get the urge to spend time with himself, he would go for his “Sunday” drives. Sometimes he would take a family member, but most often he would take the dog, Chopper. Chopper was a dog that adopted the Haggerty’s. Jory recalls his dad having all kinds of rules as to what the dog could and couldn’t do. But Chopper soon stole Pat’s heart and there wasn’t much that dog couldn’t do. When the family would have to go out of town, Pat would call his sister, Anne Sadorf, who was definitely not a dog person, and give her first opportunity to dog sit. Anne would always tell Pat that she was happy to do anything for him except dog sit the “demon dog”. But brother that Pat was, he always asked Anne first. It was one of the things that Anne loved about Pat. But there are many traits that family and friends loved about Pat. His fun loving spirit, his kindness to family, friends, children, and to strangers; his hardworking nature; his ability to give without expecting or asking to receive; but mostly, Pat had a great love of family. Pat’s sister Anne observed that perhaps Pat didn’t seem as strong as some of the other siblings, or have as much self-confidence, but Pat had an inner strength, which he learned to draw on in the difficult times. And one of those most difficult times came with his first born daughter, LaVonne. LaVonne was born prematurely and had medical issues that required constant care and medical attention. Many miles were traveled to see doctors and the first eight years of Pat and Carolee’s marriage was devoted to LaVonne. Sissy, Pat’s name for LaVonne, became a very special person in Pat and Carolee’s life and in the lives of their extended family. When her name is said it is said with smiles and great love. Pat, Carolee and the family lost LaVonne when she was eight. Jory was only a year and a half and Tiffany was not born yet. But Jory and Tiffany know Lavonne from all the stories shared with them by family. When Tiffany was born, she too was premature, and Carolee and Pat were very afraid. Pat could hold Tiffany up in the palm of his hand, and their relief was great when they learned that Tiffany was healthy, because the loss of LaVonne was such a difficult part of their lives. Today Pat will be laid to rest next to his beloved daughter, Sissy. William Wordsworth said “The best portion of a good man’s life is his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love.” Perhaps we can not bring to mind all those little, nameless acts of love and kindness that Pat Haggerty has bestowed upon us during his lifetime, but we can bring to mind and to heart the sense of the quality of this good man’s life and how it has touched ours. Please remember Pat as we listen to Marla McCormick sing and play “Amazing Grace.” Song: “Amazing Grace” Celebrant: Closing Carolee was telling about returning from a recent trip she and Pat had made to Great Falls. They had driven home along the highline, through Wolfpoint and Circle and Pat was reminiscing about all the wells he and his dad had drilled in that area. He related stories to Carolee about the people and his experiences. In the past few days, many stories have been told and shared about Pat between and with family and friends. Continue to do this. Carolee, Jory, Tiffany and the rest of Pat’s family have difficult days ahead. They will experience holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries where the absence of Pat will be felt with a fresh sense of loss. Be very present at these times. Stop in, call or e-mail and let them know that you are thinking of them and of Pat. Remember with them his touch on your life and your experiences with Pat. Carolee, Jory, Tiffany, Lorraine,and members of Pat’s extended family, you will be forever changed, forever altered by this loss. And that is to be expected. The intensity of the hurt only bears testimony to the depth and meaning of this relationship in your life. Pat was and remains a part of you. Treasure his memory; hold Pat close to you. The sharp edges of this pain, this relentless sadness will, in due time, give way to something gentler, something more bearable. Touched though we are with sadness, as we consider Pat’s life we are filled with memories both happy and sad. That Pat has lived, what Pat has experienced can never be taken from him or from us. For this we are grateful. It is an important day when we stop to bear witness to a person’s life among us, the difference his living and dying made among family and community and to take time to express our grief, our hope our memories. Thank you for being here for this important time. Upon our leaving the church today, we will process to Dawson Memorial Cemetery for Patrick Haggerty’s Committal Service. You are then invited back to the church for a reception and fellowship with family and friends. That concludes this life tribute service for Patrick Haggerty.

Patrick D. Haggerty

November 12, 1952 - April 10, 2007

What We Do

Flowers & Gifts

Plan Ahead

About Us

Resources

Obituaries

Grief & Healing

Contact Information

Patrick D. Haggerty

November 12, 1952 - April 10, 2007

What We Do

Flowers & Gifts

Plan Ahead

About Us

Resources

Obituaries

Grief & Healing

Contact Information

365 Days of Grief Support