A loving daughter made sure her terminally-ill father’s last days were special by organising unique adventures for him – including a private tour of a Navy helicopter squadron.
When Patrick Mitchell was given a terminal diagnosis of stage-four pancreatic cancer in December last year, at the age of 72, his daughter Vanessa Mitchell-Delmotte decided to post to a group on Facebook asking about ideas for things to do in the area for his bucket list.
She wrote: ‘My dear dad has stage 4 pancreatic cancer. I’m taking December off work to enjoy some bucket list activities with him. Anyone have ideas?’
Patrick lived in Coronado, California, and Vanessa said she was shocked when replies and suggestions came pouring in from strangers, many of whom even offered to provide her father with a unique experience.
Vanessa said the offers were all free, with not a single person asking for money in exchange. Top of the list was from Julie Wright, offering a private tour of a US Navy helicopter squadron at the nearby Naval Air Station North Island, which the pair readily accepted.
Vanessa explained that her grandfather, Patrick’s father, had been in the Navy.
Another offer was to go to see a top Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fight in Las Vegas.
Vickie Quinn, 62, made the offer, saying in response to Vanessa’s post: ‘If you bring him to Las Vegas, I can arrange a UFC fight.’ They travelled on December 11 and saw Julianna Pena beat Amanda Nunes at UFC 269.
Vickie’s son Stephen, 33, is an executive at the UFC and quadriplegic, and she said they wanted to pay something back to the community in Coronado that had always been helpful and kind to them.
He had also always wanted to visit Paris, and although there was no time to tick that one off the bucket list, they made sure they had a hotel room that overlooked the miniature Eiffel Tower on the Las Vegas strip.
Patrick died on January 11 at the age of 73, and Vanessa explained why he meant so much to her, saying: ‘He would write post-it notes on my bathroom mirror when I was a supremely awkward teenager to tell me I’m beautiful.
‘We would go on lunch dates together where we would just talk about life. We would take evening walks in our neighborhood.
‘Just being present in each other’s life and encouraging our dreams. His dreams didn’t stop after retiring. An avid traveler since childhood, his trips included visits to ashrams in India and hiking to the Mount Everest base camp when he was 66.
‘My dad loved a good movie and he watched thousands. I saw in him the warmth of Tom Hanks, the presence of Clint Eastwood, and the wry humour of George Clooney.
‘He also read A LOT. Everything, from sports biographies to classic literature, financial journals to science stories and Vanity Fair!
‘He was particularly interested in reading about the lives of people he considered successful, from all walks of life, and with all kinds of accomplishments.
‘He was always trying to get at… “What does a life look like when lived to its absolute fullest?”‘
Patrick Mitchell was a retired high school dean. Vanessa said he was dean of students at Chula Vista High School when Mario Lopez, the host on ‘Extra’ and ‘Access Hollywood’, was there. He was also the head of the Francis Parker Upper School for 19 years.
Posting on Facebook one month after her father’s passing, Vanessa said: ‘One of my fears is that he will look down on our family here… wishing to physically be a part of it. Present for the climb, missing the reward.
‘I imagine he’s looking down on me right now saying I’m missing the point… That being there for the climb was the reward.’
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