Patrick D. West

Patrick D. West, 78, of Bourbonnais passed away on January 4, 2024. Pat grew up in Kankakee with his brother David and parents Roy and Bercha (Sherertz) West. His childhood was filled with sandlot and little league baseball, road trips to see cousins, and gatherings at the park district with family friends. A graduate of Kankakee High School where he was involved in several activities including varsity golf, Pat attended U of I for aeronautical engineering before enlisting in the US Air Force. He served in intelligence and kept snippets of Japanese and Arabic in his vocabulary after being stationed in Japan and Turkey. After returning from service and securing a job as an air traffic controller, Pat married high school friend Paulette Ankerstar in 1970. Though they later divorced, they reconciled back to friendship not too many years later, which was a gift to their children, Derek and Christina. Sadly, Pat and Paulette endured the death of their son in 2010, and Paulette passed in 2014. In the years the family lived together in Aurora, Pat enjoyed showing off for the kids at the driving range, bowling, playing cards, pool, and games like Trivial Pursuit and chess. He built a limestone basketball court in the back yard, planted winter seedlings in the basement for the family garden, and toyed with the video equipment of the time, as he worked at electronics stores following the controller strike of 1981. The family was treated to many delightful yet embarrassing home videos at a time when they were somewhat uncommon. He worked multiple jobs and evening shifts to make ends meet and cherished the time he could set aside with Derek at scouts or baseball and with Christina at dance and her high school sports. Pat has a brick at Sox Park that reads “Pat West Exemplifies the Grinder Rules.” A theme of the 2005 World Series-winning season for the White Sox, the Grinder Rules were all about reaping the payoff from doing the little things right, discipline, and stepping up to the plate to do what needed to be done. That was Pat. He imparted a love for the Southside team to his kids; Derek followed them like no one else, and Christina connected with now-husband Dave over Sox baseball. It’s a legacy the family will never let go. Once Derek and Christina were adults, there were so many fun times at the park between tailgates, meet-ups in the bullpen bar, and special trips to the stadium club together. Pat had great friends in his later employment at Airfone and Row44. Notably, he was working in the network operations center when the calls from UA Flight 93 came through on 9/11. Pat was whip-smart, and up to the day he was hospitalized was dedicated to his consecutive streak of solving cryptoquotes in the paper. He did his best to turn the grandkids onto sudoku. His vast lexicon included plenty of dad/grandpa-isms like kewl, I'm hep, and military throwbacks like copy. He appreciated proper grammar and was quick to remind the kids and grandkids not to start a sentence with “me and so-and-so”—certainly another legacy he hoped to leave. Above all, Pat was a person of integrity. He loved his kids, grandkids, brother, in-laws, and extended family and friends dearly. He was a superfan of Christina’s rugby and all the grandkid events. He cherished Facetimes and never missed a family birthday party. Pat is survived by his daughter Christina and son-in-law Dave Ryan; grandchildren Sonya (Derek and Margo Robles), Audra, and Blake; brother David West; nieces, nephews, cousins and their families; as well as the neighbors of Woodstock Lane. He will be so very deeply missed. Visitation will be from 1:00 to 3:00 pm on Sunday, January 21, 2024 at Clancy Gernon of Bourbonnais, with a short service at 3:00 pm. All are welcome. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to White Sox Charities or FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education).

Patrick D. West

May 29, 1945 - January 4, 2024