In this blog and ones to follow (as I have time), I want to share the testimonies from other family members. I want to get them documented in writing so those that were not able to attend the service can read the beautiful tributes to our Patricia, mom, grandma and grammy.
Of all the people who have ever walked this Earth or whoever will, only five were privileged enough, blessed enough to call Patricia Schwartz, mother. I was blessed enough to be one of those five. You that knew mama experienced her selflessness, her love, her hospitality, her whit, her joy, her patience, her food and her beauty. Me and my brothers and sisters experienced all those things that made my mother such an angel all the time, all day everyday. Mama when I leave this Earth and get to Heaven if I can live an eternity as yours and daddy's baby boy, what a wonderful place Heaven will be.
I love you mama, Douglas Schwartz
Although I am a newcomer to the Schwartz family I have known Pat and Buddy since I was 14. One thing I remember when I use to come to their house as a teenager is Pat being in the kitchen. I never saw her sitting and relaxing but while she was in the kitchen cooking for her family she was always smiling. When Doug and I got married we made arrangements to meet Pat and Buddy on vacation. I was able to spend lots of one on one time with Pat and we talked for hours. The thing that struck me about mama Pat was her absolute selflessness. She had only good things to say about others. I never heard her say anything derogatory or mean about anyone else. It was easy to see why my husband absolutely worshiped her and why so many others wanted to be around her. Instead of being intimidated by this, it inspired me to be the best wife and mother I could be, fiercely loyal and constantly striving to do more for others than myself just as Jesus would have us to do. Thank you Pat for taking me under your wing and helping me be a better me. Love, Nancy Schwartz
My name is Jacob Quick and it is a privilege to be a grandson of Grandma, Pat Schwartz.
Last night Pappaw told me, he said; "I want you to go over to Steve and Judy's and gather the grand kids around and talk about how much you should contribute to me for letting you have your grandmother!" I decided not to for two reasons, for one we would all be broke and then we decided there would not be a bag big enough for giving us the privilege of knowing her.
Dear Grandma,
I remember whenever you would tell me a story of when you lived on a farm and you would imitate the noises of every animal. I would want to hear it every night before I went to bed. I remember crying whenever I realized that you had left after you came to visit not knowing what I was going to do with myself. The only thing that comforted me was when my mom telling me that we would call you and talk to you tomorrow. I remember going to your house and even though you were one of the most intelligent persons I had ever met, the phrase "I'm not hungry" never made any sense to you. That was a foreign concept. I remember your amazing southern cooking. How you loved everyone no matter what they did. You gave love to those who did not deserve it. There was not a person who met you or even heard of you who could not feel your love. I remember feeling so privileged of being a grandchild. Of course, us grandchildren thought we were so supreme to the babysitting kids!
We did not have to stay in the playroom all the time. We could go and eat cereal at the bar and walk in and out as we pleased. "But I realized what made us so proud was we could call ourselves your grandchildren. One of the highest honors that no one deserved.
You were a woman of faith so I decided to find Bible verses that reminded me of you. It wasn't difficult. You embodied the greatest commandments: To "love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength" and to "love your neighbor as yourself." In Philippians, Paul says to "consider others as more important than yourself." I can't think of a time when you didn't do that. He also told them that he desired to go and be with Christ, but that it was more beneficial for them if he stayed alive. Now I know why you fought cancer so hard. But as I hear all of these great stories about you, one particular verse comes to mind. It's from Proverbs 31, where it talks about the ideal woman. It says: "And her children arise, and call her blessed."
Love,
Jacob
I'm Caleb Quick and I'm Patti's oldest. I have something prepared but before that I just realized something this morning. Whenever I would go to grandma's house for summer I always associated that with going and learning how to swim. She would always take us to the pool when I was younger and take us on lessons and do that and I love swimming but I didn't want to go because it was a lesson, it was school, and summer isn't school. Summer is candy and video games and movies and I'm not going to learn anything, but I went because grandma wanted me to and eventually I learned to love how to swim and I still love to do that to this day. But what I didn't know until this week, until we started talking about was that the reason she pushed us so hard to learn how to swim was because she couldn't swim herself. Then it all made sense, whenever we'd go to Uncle Russell and Aunt Susan's pool she would always stay (the pool dipped in the bottom), she would always stay on either end. Usually nearest the ladder and the steps but she would be in there with us and she always wanted to make sure that if were in the water we would never be in danger of drowning because she made sure that we knew how to swim. So even in that she was always looking out for us.
The world tells us that a good life is one based on how much wealth, fame and power we can acquire. I find myself saying if only more people knew me, if only I had more money, if only I had more control over the world. Because of this, it is easy to think that the people that get all these things are the best of people, that they are our betters, those who go after these trophies ruthlessly and selfishly. At times I believe that too. But deep in my heart I know that that is not true. In my heart I know that the best people, the greatest of us, are the ones who give of themselves freely and expect nothing in return. They lift people up every day making them stronger and better. They have the largest families because everyone they know becomes a blood relation just by being near. Physical things are nothing to them because their true treasure is immaterial, it's love. So in my heart, I know that Patricia Schwartz, my grandma, was and is the greatest person I have ever known. Her wealth is in this building, her fame is in all our hearts and minds and her power is the love that we all still feel. That she couldn't help but spread, because, she couldn't help but spread to everyone she touched. I am eternally thankful to have been blessed by her and I'll carry her in my heart for as long as I have one.
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