Services for Patrick Ignatius Fenlon will be conducted on Monday, March 2, 2015 at 11 am at Saint Augustine Catholic Church, father David Koetter presiding. The family will receive guests immediately following the service in the Parrish Hall. A graveside burial service will be held afterwards. Mr. Fenlon passed away in his home on February 26, 2015 after a lengthy illness. .
He was born the youngest son of 11 children to Frank and Margaret Ann Doyle Fenlon on a Sunday, St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 1922. The choice of his first name was obvious to this Irish Catholic family from Black River near Cheboygan, Michigan. He grew up on a small farm surrounded by family. Being the youngest and perhaps a little spoiled, his brothers nicknamed him “Rex”. He attended elementary school in a one room school house, to which he had to walk daily in “2 feet of snow”. As the years went by, his journey got progressively longer and the snow deeper.
Baseball was the biggest sport at the time and the Fenlon family were and remain big Detroit Tigers fans. In the late 1930’s, the family moved to Washington DC where Pat enrolled in the 10th grade at Central High School. He played 2nd base for the varsity team which won the Washington DC city league championship his junior and senior years. He made all league 2nd baseman both years. His brother Lee said he did not make a single error in either of those seasons. He was able to earn a scholarship to the University of Richmond where he lettered in baseball all four years.
Patrick’s education was interrupted in 1941 by the attack on Pearl Harbor. He joined the Army Air Corps in early 1942 as an aviation cadet and earned his wings and then became a Copilot - flying the resilient 4 engine heavy bomber, the B 17. In 1944, he was assigned to the 486th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force in Sudbury, England. He flew and survived 35 combat missions over Germany in the 835th Squadron, often encountering “flak so thick, you could get out and walk on it.”
On return to the States after the war, Patrick re-enrolled at the University of Richmond. He resumed his highly successful baseball career, but was also talked into playing varsity football for the Spiders, by his oldest brother, John Fenlon, who had become head football coach. In 1946, he was the starting quarterback for the team and yet had to go both ways – also playing in the secondary. On a Friday night October 5, 1946, they upset the #2 ranked Maryland Terrapins 37 -7. They also defeated the University of Virginia that year and finished the season 6-2-2. The baseball team in the spring of 1947 went 20 – 3, still the best record ever for a University of Richmond baseball team. He was drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers organization but with the intervening war years and expected years in the minor leagues, instead chose to marry Irene Elizabeth Barbour in August of 1948. He then went to work in hospital administration for the Medical College of Virginia. Yet, he managed to play and coach semi-pro baseball in the Virginia tidewater region until having children cut into his schedule in the early 50s.
Pat moved to Flint, Michigan with his family in 1954 and became assistant hospital administrator at Hurley Hospital. In August of 1960, he was recruited to Thomasville to accept the job of Hospital Administrator of John D. Archbold Memorial Hospital under the able direction of Board members consisting of Mr. Bob Balfour, Sr., Mr. Frank Eidson, Mr. Bill Flowers, Mr. Bill McIntyre, and Ms. Pansy Poe to name a few. He established a special rapport with Dr. Charlie Watt and other physician leaders, whose vision over the years helped develop and sustain an outstanding Medical Staff with which the community has been blessed. He established a strong administrative team and was able to advance and improve the medical facilities keeping Archbold on the cutting edge of technology and well prepared for the future.
His dedication and affection for Archbold Hospital was boundless. Even after his retirement in 1995, he would regularly bring flowers for the information desk and lobby of the hospital. The people skills he learned, being the youngest of 11 children, were outstanding. He frequently patrolled the floors of his hospital, at all hours of the day and night, and knew all employees by name. He served as President of the Georgia Hospital Association, was on numerous state committees and on the national committee for Midwifery.
Patrick truly enjoyed above all being the local ambassador for Ireland, especially on his birthday, Saint Patrick’s Day – dressing up in his bright green pants and coat with flashing bowtie, Irish derby hat and his trusty shillelagh. On this special day, he would make rounds to each floor and department in the hospital – and woe to any who were not wearing green (having green eyes did not count). If an individual was unprepared, he would apply a bright green shamrock stick-on to make them legal – although a pinch or rap of the shillelagh was not out of the question.
He served as President of Glen Arven Country Club and enjoyed playing golf into his late 80s. He started and became the Commissioner of the Old Bushmill’s golf tournament and was a regular member of the ROMEO lunch group. He regularly attended Mass at St. Augustine’s Catholic Church and was a Lector in the 1960s and 70s. He was on the board of the Commercial Bank, was a member of the Rotary Club and supporter of Thomasville High School and Brookwood School. For most of his life, he was the assistant gardener for his wife and her prodigious horticultural pursuits. When not in Thomasville, you could find him enjoying his beach-house at Alligator Point.
Patrick Ignatius Fenlon was preceded in death by his parents, Frank and Margaret Ann, his siblings – Angela, Lillian, John, James, Frank, Arch, Lee, Edward, Ray, and Bob, son William Scott (Scotty) and beloved wife Irene Elizabeth Barbour. He is survived by sons - Patrick (Rick) and wife Denise of Thomasville and Mark and wife Holly of Orlando, FL and daughter - Laura Ann (Laurie) and husband Stewart of St Marys, GA. He has 7 grandchildren - Randall, Mark, Jr., Brennan, Kathleen, Caitlin, Sarah and Patrick and 1 great grandson Everett.
In lieu of flowers, donations in his honor may be made to the Archbold Foundation.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Patrick I Fenlon, please visit our flower store.
He was born the youngest son of 11 children to Frank and Margaret Ann Doyle Fenlon on a Sunday, St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 1922. The choice of his first name was obvious to this Irish Catholic family from Black River near Cheboygan, Michigan. He grew up on a small farm surrounded by family. Being the youngest and perhaps a little spoiled, his brothers nicknamed him “Rex”. He attended elementary school in a one room school house, to which he had to walk daily in “2 feet of snow”. As the years went by, his journey got progressively longer and the snow deeper.
Baseball was the biggest sport at the time and the Fenlon family were and remain big Detroit Tigers fans. In the late 1930’s, the family moved to Washington DC where Pat enrolled in the 10th grade at Central High School. He played 2nd base for the varsity team which won the Washington DC city league championship his junior and senior years. He made all league 2nd baseman both years. His brother Lee said he did not make a single error in either of those seasons. He was able to earn a scholarship to the University of Richmond where he lettered in baseball all four years.
Patrick’s education was interrupted in 1941 by the attack on Pearl Harbor. He joined the Army Air Corps in early 1942 as an aviation cadet and earned his wings and then became a Copilot - flying the resilient 4 engine heavy bomber, the B 17. In 1944, he was assigned to the 486th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force in Sudbury, England. He flew and survived 35 combat missions over Germany in the 835th Squadron, often encountering “flak so thick, you could get out and walk on it.”
On return to the States after the war, Patrick re-enrolled at the University of Richmond. He resumed his highly successful baseball career, but was also talked into playing varsity football for the Spiders, by his oldest brother, John Fenlon, who had become head football coach. In 1946, he was the starting quarterback for the team and yet had to go both ways – also playing in the secondary. On a Friday night October 5, 1946, they upset the #2 ranked Maryland Terrapins 37 -7. They also defeated the University of Virginia that year and finished the season 6-2-2. The baseball team in the spring of 1947 went 20 – 3, still the best record ever for a University of Richmond baseball team. He was drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers organization but with the intervening war years and expected years in the minor leagues, instead chose to marry Irene Elizabeth Barbour in August of 1948. He then went to work in hospital administration for the Medical College of Virginia. Yet, he managed to play and coach semi-pro baseball in the Virginia tidewater region until having children cut into his schedule in the early 50s.
Pat moved to Flint, Michigan with his family in 1954 and became assistant hospital administrator at Hurley Hospital. In August of 1960, he was recruited to Thomasville to accept the job of Hospital Administrator of John D. Archbold Memorial Hospital under the able direction of Board members consisting of Mr. Bob Balfour, Sr., Mr. Frank Eidson, Mr. Bill Flowers, Mr. Bill McIntyre, and Ms. Pansy Poe to name a few. He established a special rapport with Dr. Charlie Watt and other physician leaders, whose vision over the years helped develop and sustain an outstanding Medical Staff with which the community has been blessed. He established a strong administrative team and was able to advance and improve the medical facilities keeping Archbold on the cutting edge of technology and well prepared for the future.
His dedication and affection for Archbold Hospital was boundless. Even after his retirement in 1995, he would regularly bring flowers for the information desk and lobby of the hospital. The people skills he learned, being the youngest of 11 children, were outstanding. He frequently patrolled the floors of his hospital, at all hours of the day and night, and knew all employees by name. He served as President of the Georgia Hospital Association, was on numerous state committees and on the national committee for Midwifery.
Patrick truly enjoyed above all being the local ambassador for Ireland, especially on his birthday, Saint Patrick’s Day – dressing up in his bright green pants and coat with flashing bowtie, Irish derby hat and his trusty shillelagh. On this special day, he would make rounds to each floor and department in the hospital – and woe to any who were not wearing green (having green eyes did not count). If an individual was unprepared, he would apply a bright green shamrock stick-on to make them legal – although a pinch or rap of the shillelagh was not out of the question.
He served as President of Glen Arven Country Club and enjoyed playing golf into his late 80s. He started and became the Commissioner of the Old Bushmill’s golf tournament and was a regular member of the ROMEO lunch group. He regularly attended Mass at St. Augustine’s Catholic Church and was a Lector in the 1960s and 70s. He was on the board of the Commercial Bank, was a member of the Rotary Club and supporter of Thomasville High School and Brookwood School. For most of his life, he was the assistant gardener for his wife and her prodigious horticultural pursuits. When not in Thomasville, you could find him enjoying his beach-house at Alligator Point.
Patrick Ignatius Fenlon was preceded in death by his parents, Frank and Margaret Ann, his siblings – Angela, Lillian, John, James, Frank, Arch, Lee, Edward, Ray, and Bob, son William Scott (Scotty) and beloved wife Irene Elizabeth Barbour. He is survived by sons - Patrick (Rick) and wife Denise of Thomasville and Mark and wife Holly of Orlando, FL and daughter - Laura Ann (Laurie) and husband Stewart of St Marys, GA. He has 7 grandchildren - Randall, Mark, Jr., Brennan, Kathleen, Caitlin, Sarah and Patrick and 1 great grandson Everett.
In lieu of flowers, donations in his honor may be made to the Archbold Foundation.
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