Wendell

I have just received news that my friend Wendell Patrick has passed away. I met Wendell in November of 2000, while working for Hennepin County’s Chemical Health Division. He was retired, but working on special projects. I was lucky enough to work on some of these projects with him.

Wendell was the self-proclaimed “president of the liars club.” In reality, he was full of stories and was a pleasure to talk to. I’m not sure how old he was, but his health had been failing. He lost his wife a couple of years ago to cancer, and his son to a motorcycle accident prior to that. He was an African-American man, who was above the petty racial things that often take place. He knew racism from way back, and recognized individuals, rather than individual color.

Wendell had been a cook in the army in Korea. He had experienced drug addiction there, and had “cleaned up” while being (literally) shipped back home to the USA. He helped a lot of people with his kindness and insight. Along the way, he and I developed a strong friendship and we managed to help each other with things, just by talking them out. We were different in age and color, but we were friends in the truest sense.

No matter what he told me, whether it was a happy story, or one of great sadness, he always summed it up the same way. He would say, “…and I’m tellin’ you Kevin, what a time we had!” In this, I was always amazed by his outlook on life. It is something that I will always try to remember.

I will miss calling my friend, to see how he is. I will miss him dearly. I am happy that he is back with Barb now.

Today I have lost a dear friend.

KJC