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Patrick Paddy Rohme - Class of 1973

Submitted by Bill Norvell 1965 <w.norvell@att.net> on 09/Jul/2026
38.59.11.242

      Patrick Paddy Rohme born in Cornwall Hospital in 1/20/1955 and DOD 5/29/2026, was the third son of Patricia and Harry. He grew up with Wayne, Harry, and his baby sister Ann. When Paddy was still a kid, his brother Wayne passed, and his parents marriage did not survive. His uncle Bill and Aunt Dot filled in to help Patricia and cousin Barry became his life long support. His best friend Wayne kept him out of trouble, mostly. They shared an apartment, a real "batchelor pad". He grew up fast and worked lots of odd jobs.
His older brother, Harry, saw his creativity and paid his tuition to study with Ansel Adams in Yosemite. It was a trip he would treasure. He soon found his way into retail and eventually worked at JCPenney. There he used his creative ability to learn visual merchandising and advertising. He had fun building and creating campaigns to promote all variety of products. He bartended on weekends and met his wife, Liz Fox, at the North Plank Road Tavern. They both loved to sing when the Hudson Valley Folk Guild would meet at the tavern and play. There were usually more musicians than audience members, but the bar sold drinks no matter what. Liz was in college and Paddy joined the choir and musical theater productions to spend time with her. They both performed in "Grease". Paddy was Kenickie and Liz played Rizzo. They had a blast. They were married in 1982, October 23rd.
Paddy continued to work in advertising, but moved to publishing, working for several weekly and daily newspapers. Meeting many business owners, he was offered a job in the auto service industry. During this time, Liz continued working in publishing. They bought a house in the City of Newburgh. Then they had had two beautiful boys, John and James.
They eventually moved to Connecticut where Paddy loved taking the boys fishing and being a scout leader for their pack at the elementary school. Paddy also found a new career in locksmithing. He became a locksmith to the stars in Greenwich Connecticut, working for Judge Judy and Diana Ross to name a few. He loved it. Those years in Connecticut were spent enjoying the beach and running the boys to karate and boy scouts, and don't forget fishing.
Liz had started working in education and went back to school to become a teacher. When the economy went south, the locksmith shop downsized and Pat lost his job. The next few years were difficult for him and he wrestled with alcoholism and depression. He faced those demons and came out of it stronger. He moved with Liz to Las Vegas, where she started teaching full time.
The boys were now men and Paddy and Liz could travel and explore the wild west. Paddy was officially retired and started new hobbies including painting and prospecting for gold. He loved them both. He built a sluice to pan his gold and filled his man cave with camping equipment, canvases and every color of paint you could imagine. He painted mostly landscapes and was inspired by the beauty of the west. He and Liz got their senior lifetime passes to the National Parks and visited Zion, Grand Canyon, Yosemite and California beaches. They also enjoyed many nights of music, karaoke, and theater in Las Vegas. They saw Paul McCartney, the Eagles, Boz Scaggs, Little River Band, and so many more wonderful experiences.
Paddy's health deteriorated in the last year of his life, having used tobacco all of his adult life, although he stayed active until the last six months. He touched many lives, always willing to lend a hand. In the last couple of years he painted some murals in the bedrooms for our neighbors in their new home. He loved every minute of it. The world has lost some magic with him gone. He is loved and missed every day.
We miss him...