Patti was someone I always looked for at the Rueben Run. I got to know her earlier at CFR when I seated next to her. She was quiet and reserved with people she didn't know well, but by the end of that evening, we were chatting and then suddenly I wasn't a stranger. She was a true friend to the FJR community, and when I would see her at the Rueben Run, I would always walk up to say hi and see how she was. Ray and Patti were super kind when I rolled through town with my trailer one fall and they let me park and come in and just had a great chat.
Ray, your love for Patti and hers for you was so clear to anyone who spent time with both of you, and you know she gets the shortcut to the pearly gates because the way she let you be you - and relished it.
I'll drink a toast tonight to a wonderful a gentle, kind soul I was fortunate to know, and another to a friend who has so many people, including me, keeping him in our thoughts now. Let us be there for you and help to pick up your spirits.