Stories about Tricia
If you have a memory that you would like to share, please send it to us via our "contact" page. She also loved jokes, especially terrible ones, so if you have one of those, please send it as well.
From:
Billy Lau
Having spent my latter teen years growing up in Hawai'i with Patty, Carla, and their sister Linda. It's times like these I'm so thankful for the individuals who played a part of my life and created fond memories with me.
My fondest memory of her was the last time I saw her in 1972 when we played a game of one-on-one basketball and she toasted me.
However, the last time I chatted with her she said she knew I threw the game and let her win. I'm sorry for rambling on. All I can say is please say a prayer for her, her husband Ken, and her children.
Patty, I'm so glad you are at peace now and no longer in pain. Oh, please say hi to your mom and dad for me and tell your Aunty Darling & Uncle George that Billy loves and misses them.
From:
Jen Dougherty
I'm absolutely heartbroken since hearing of your passing. You've treated me like a part of the family since I was a teenager, and I can never repay you for the kindness and friendship you showed me over the years.
I know you will look out for your family as the fiercest guardian angel that ever existed, for your love knows no bounds or barriers. Say hi to my dad for me, will you? I love you and I will miss you like crazy.
Mom Jokes
Some of the last jokes she texted me:
Five ants rent an apartment with five more ants; now they're ten-ants.
A horse walks into a bar and orders a pint. The barkeep looks at him and says, "You know, I see you in here quite often. Think you might be an alcoholic?" The horse seems baffled and says, "I don't think I am," and immediately vanishes. This is, of course based upon the predication of Rene Descarte's philosophy "I think, therefore I am."
Now, I could have explained this at the beginning of the joke, but that would be putting Descarte before de-horse.
I was addicted to the Hokey Pokey, but I turned myself around.
From: Mie Shipe
This is from the Mother's Day tribute I wrote for her back in 2018, and it's just as true today as it was then, if not moreso:
My mom took us to Pokémon TCG tournaments. She told us we were allowed to cuss, but that only people too stupid to think of better words did it. She told me she and Dad were Santa, because she didn't want some old fat guy getting credit for her Christmas Eve all-nighters putting our toys together. My mom kept it real.
She baked last-minute cupcakes for bake sales, she helped me overachieve, she drove me and my friends wherever we wanted to go, put my favorite snacks in my lunch boxes, listened to me bawl my eyes out every time "my life was over" (it happened frequently after jr. high), she knew all the words to the Tiny Toons and Animaniacs themes, and painted her nails weird colors when I did so we'd match. She helped me peddle girl scout cookies and magazines and candy bars, and whatever else.
She made sure we all knew that she loved us, supported us, and was proud of us no matter what. She was, and continues to be awesome, and I'll never not be grateful for her.
I love you, mom.
From: Rhonda Cardinal
Tribute to Tricia
I lost one of my oldest friends, Tricia, this week.
Her husband, Ken, called me Tuesday in the middle of the BSR Board meeting and I knew it wasn’t going to be good news, so I called him back immediately afterwards. Her passing was unexpected and shocking to all who knew her.
I met her in a Creative Writing class in High School. I was a Freshman and she was a Junior. Tricia had her own car, a huge light-blue four door sedan she named “Babycakes”. She could and would go anywhere in it, usually fast. I went on many joy rides with her- to local restaurants and malls and to the UCLA campus where she had a friend she liked to see. I never got home in time, to the constant irritation of my mother.
We would go to and order drinks at El Torito in Lakewood, even though we were both under-age. They never carded anyone back then. The waiter asked us how old we were, and Tricia replied without blinking, “I’m 26 and she’s 24.” No further questions were asked, and our margaritas were served.
Tricia’s roots were in Hawaii, her father was a Navy man, and met her mother during WW II in Hawaii. Her maiden name was Ley, and she told me that she was related to the physicist, Willy Ley.
She lived in California for many years, then moved to Hawaii. I visited her there several times, the first time when I was 18. I got a $300 settlement from a car accident in my Gremlin (not my fault!) and used the money to buy a plane ticket to Hawaii. It was a memorable week. The drinking age was 18 and we bought a lot of it, mostly unconsumed by the time I left.
Before I was involved in Basin Street Regulars, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, there were the Science Fiction Clubs. I started one in High School and another one in College. In my first year at Cerritos College, Tricia and I and some other friends put on a Science Fiction Convention on the campus. We called it FalCon, after the school mascot. We met many famous authors during that year.
Later on, Tricia met her husband Ken in Hawaii and I went over there for their wedding.
A few years later, they moved back to California, and I helped Ken get a job at McDonnel Douglas, where I was working at the time. This was only fitting, because a friend of Tricia’s helped me get my first job at McDonnell Douglas, which started my 35-year career with that company (later Boeing and ULA). Ken is still working there.
Tricia was the Matron of Honor at my wedding. Her children were one of my flower girls and the ring bearer, respectively.
Ken and Tricia and I had a common love for Science Fiction and the blockbuster movies that came out in the 70’s; Star Wars, Raiders, and Star Trek. We would get in line two hours before the movie started on opening day and buy and eat pizza while we waited. We all went to a Russian play that featured most of the cast of “Star Trek, the Next Generation”.
After we moved to Santa Maria, it was harder to see them, averaging about every two or three years. They favored a certain Eagles tribute band and so one time we met them for a concert at the Chumash Casino. More recently, we had dinner with them in November, before my birthday trip to Catalina. I’m glad that I got to spend that time with her.
The next time I will see that family will be at a memorial in April.
Tricia is woven into the fabric of my life. I feel that some of my threads are unraveling.