The Celebration of Life for Pat Carpenter Rod n Reel Restaurant Sunday March 11, 2012 4PM-7PM

The Celebration of Life for Pat Carpenter is hosted at Rod n Reel Restaurant Sunday March 11, 2012 4PM-7PM this afternoon.

I met Pat and Bob Carpenter maybe a decade ago. That was before they became Celebrities in our small Town. That was before they were a household word. And before everyone knew and loved them.

As a real estate agent for decades you meet and work with a lot of people. Along the way, some people stand out as really, really special.

First of all, let me clarify the Pat and Bob Carpenter is spelled PatandBobCarpenter with no spaces. You realize pretty quickly that there is a very nice love story here.

This is what I remember before they become down right famous around here. Before politics, before road signs in their name, before local jobs, before many charitable events. When I was just the Realtor they picked when they were considering living here part time.

I remember puzzling over the computer search one day in the office. It really had me stumped. Very quietly and gently, Pat said, Cheryl, change this field and the search should come up. She did it so gently and with so much grace I did not feel silly for not figuring it out myself. I have remembered that scene countless times when I needed to explain something to someone that I may have grasped easily but they did not.

I remember the pre home inspection. Something said to me that we needed to do one before the offer. Now that was and is RARE. But something made us do it. I remember again the calmness they showed when the report results were DIFFICULT and how it catapulted the home search to new construction.

I remember mentioning some of my friends who became some of their very best friends...as in vacation friends and dinner friends and Holiday friends.

I remember having a sixth sense about them a few times. They would cross my mind and within hours I would bump in to them somewhere. It always left me dumbfounded but they just seem kind of amused.

I remember watching them over the years become entrenched in the community. I remember thinking I knew them first. I also remember thinking how lucky we were to have them decide to move here full time and what a joy they were to my friends and to the Community.

Here is to you, Pat Carpenter. Here is to your grace, kindness, consideration, creativity and the footprint you have left forever on our small Town which was made so much grander by your presence.

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