Patrick Joseph Dubee
(1974 - 1998)
To our Dear Son in Heaven
When you were born you lit
up our lives with joy. Our family was complete. We had our beautiful
little girl and now our son. You were beautiful with your blond curls, big
blue eyes, and oh the dimples!
On Christmas of 1998 you
wrote us such a beautiful note (we now have it framed). You told us how
sorry you were for hurting us. You told how it was "time for me to be
a man". You told us how much guilt you felt and how much you loved us
and that you would die for us.....and the next morning you were gone.
We will all be eternally
grateful for that gift of our last day together. Our whole family was
together for Christmas and you were so happy. Your last and best gift to
us was when you went around the dinner table and gave everyone a kiss.
What a beautiful memory.
You were precious to us
all. You were our beloved son and brother. Now our hearts are broken. We
miss you so much. But we know that now you are truly "in the Arms of
the Angels and may you find some comfort there".
Until that wonderful day when we
see you again we hold you in our hearts. We will always
love you.......................................Love Mom, Dad, and Jen.
About Patrick
Patrick was born the day
before Mother's Day, May 11th 1974, and died from a heroin overdose the
day after Christmas, Dec. 26th 1998. He was our second child- quiet and
shy in school but a terror at home!
School was
difficult for Patrick. He was diagnosed with ADD as an adult and suddenly
all his difficulties in school made sense.
He was a
loving, sensitive person. Perhaps too sensitive. He felt things so deeply.
He had low self-esteem and was diagnosed with bipolar disease and acute
depression.
Patrick was a great
listener and a wonderful friend. He could be trusted with others secrets.
He was a good writer and had a great imagination. He loved the movies,
especially the independent films.
Sports was one place
were Patrick shone! In high school he lettered in soccer, track, and
wrestling. But it was wrestling that was his passion! He found something
he was good at and he loved it. He came in second in the state for his
weight category. Some of our best memories are of watching him wrestle.
Thank God we have the videos.
After graduating from
high school, Patrick's life started a downward spiral. We suspected and
then knew drugs were involved but we didn't know to what extent. When we
found out that he was using heroin it was a knife in the heart.
There were tears and
promises, rehabs and relapses. We knew how hard Patrick tried. He wrote
"Truth: The genuine Innocent Honesty of one's self". It is
inscribed on his gravestone.
One message we would most
passionately like to pass on is this: If you, as a parent, have any doubts
or questions that your child may be using drugs- he probably is. DO NOT
LET IT GO. Be aggressive and get him into treatment. Let us not lose
any more of our precious children to this horrible drug. Let them not have
died in vain. Get help now.
Joe and Charlene Dubee at
sackcats4@cs.com
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