My first wake

A former colleague of mine, Pat O'Neill, died two weeks ago of cancer. A wake for him was held last night at the Scottish Rite Temple near PGE Park.

It was a beautiful space, very fitting for Pat's spirit. Everyone brought food -- much better than hiring a caterer, I thought -- and reminisced about how much fun Pat had had while he was alive. His doctor -- his doctor! At his wake! -- talked about how Pat had "lived his disease, rather than letting IT live HIM." It was the best quote of the night and really made me think.

Also what made me think was seeing so many former Oregonian colleagues, as well as folks from the Department of Human Services, where Pat worked after taking a buyout two years ago. Mel Kohn, the state's acting director of public health, spoke. He lives three blocks for us and is such a nice, down-to-earth guy, it's hard to remember he has such an important job.

Drew and I took Rachel with us. We were lucky there was at least one other kid there -- our friend Catherine's 3-year-old, Josie. She was fascinated by Rachel and kept staring at her, for which Catherine was grateful because it kept her occupied.

Rachel was dressed in a little summer dress that Drew bought her last week, and white socks with lace around the cuffs. She looked ADORABLE and got a lot of compliments. A few people were gracious and said she looks like a combination of me and Drew, but most agree that she looks almost exclusively like him.

Afterward I wondered: When I die, will Rachel organize a memorial service? Who would come? What would they say?