Patrick (Pat) Herald died suddenly on Monday, October 11, 2021, in his Florida home, at age 60.

He is survived by his mom, Mary Louise (Mary) Herald-McGarry and her husband Jim McGarry.  Also, Pat is survived by siblings Thomas (Tom), Therese (Terri), and Koreen, along with their spouses Kathy, Anthony (Tony), and Andrew (Andy).  In addition, he is survived by many loving aunts and uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins, and great nieces and nephews. Yes, Pat was officially a “great” uncle before he was a great uncle. Pat is also survived by Carol Britt, his godmother, and predeceased by his godfather, Ed Herald.

Pat grew up in Greensburg Pennsylvania with his predeceased father, Thomas (Tom), Mary, and his siblings. Pat enjoyed a beautiful upbringing in American suburbia with a loving family, great education, fun dog, and many friends.  He enjoyed attending and graduating from the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg Pennsylvania.  He helped folks laugh as he impersonated professors during talent shows and shared his musical abilities. He contributed to caring for the family home by mowing grass, shoveling snow, and more.  He took care of trucks and mowing for a neighbor’s company and worked at Kinney Shoe Store at Westmoreland Mall through college.  He then moved to Maryland to work at Verizon and worked his way up the ranks to contribute as a leader driving the company’s success, reaching Director of Corporate Accounting Operations at Verizon Communications.  In recent years, Pat has been “giving back” by serving folks in need of direction for and understanding of their retirement planning.  He has touched so many lives of coworkers and clients in treating each person with honor and respect along with caring, understanding, and compassion. Often, after he’d share an initial meeting with new clients, they’d stand up and “come in” for a big hug with Pat.

He married Lorrie Westland Herald in 1988, with daughter Carey from Lorrie’s previous marriage.  Since that time, Carey is the mother to Pat’s grandson, Cameron.  Pat and Lorrie together had daughter, Carisa, who predeceased Pat in 2011. Pat outpoured unconditional love for his family.

Pat reminds us of the “Marlboro Man,” in a good way.  He was handsome, rugged, a smoker, fit, the life-of-the-party, and outdoorsy.  He enjoyed fishing and being on the water, whether it was the ocean, lake, or bay.

Pat was a loving and caring soul who wanted most to “be a good person” to be able to go to heaven to be with Carisa.   When he died, he was found with a smile on his face.  We all hope that means he was joining Carisa, his dad Tom, his Uncle Ed, and other loved ones in heaven.

Pat was generous and would “be there” for any of the many folks honored to be touched by knowing him. He loved with a purity of heart.  He would literally be the man to “give you the shirt off his back” if you simply asked.

We want to do Pat the honor of celebrating and remembering his inspiring life on Friday, November 5, 2021, at 11am at St. Ignatius of Antioch Roman Catholic Church in Tarpon Springs, Florida.  There is a remote live-streaming option to view Pat’s funeral mass from the church’s website (st.ignatius.net and scroll down to the livestream).  Afterward, all are welcome to a reception at the St. George home.  We know Pat has changed so many people’s lives for the better.  Let’s remember him with a smile.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to:

Florida Gulf Coast University Foundation

Carisa Loraine Herald Memorial Scholarship Endowed Fund

10501 FGCU Blvd. S.

Fort Myers, FL 33965

Or you can give online at: