Pat Lalonde was a Roman Catholic priest, a beloved teacher, and my uncle. In the 1980s, my cousins Bob and Kenn Lalonde and me played a lot golf around Toronto with our uncle who was a pretty good golfer, but even better with the needle if he thought we were taking it too seriously.
Pat died on Thanksgiving weekend of 1987 of leukemia. Within a couple weeks, the nephews held the first Pat Lalonde Memorial Golf Tournament (with cousin David Lalonde). With one exception, the tourney has been played every year since, usually on the August 1 long weekend during our annual Lalonde family get-together (stretching back to the early 60s).
How wonderful to watch my son Corey, at age 19, win Uncle Pat’s trophy this year in London during the 25th playing of the tournament. When Corey was a youngster learning the game, he ached to win the family tournament. His victory is significant for another reason: he’s the first winner of the next generation–Pat’s great nephews and nieces.
I have always felt blessed to be part of a family that works to preserve its legacy of love and sense of family. As a I tell Corey and Sean, friends will come and go, but you’ll always have your family and they will always be there for you–as Uncle Pat was for me, my cousins and his siblings.
Nice to see that Corey now has a more tangible connection to the great uncle he never met. Watch out buddy, I’m coming after you in next year’s tournament.
Photo: Cousin Jan Bock
About Tim O'Connor