Obituaries
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It is with heavy hearts, forever broken, that we share the passing of Patrick (Pat) Girdaukas on August 13, 2023. Patrick was born on March 21,1991 to Gerard and Kristin (Hendee) Girdaukas in Lake Forest, IL
Patrick enjoyed antiquing, and truly loved cars from classic to modern, as well as visiting swap meets and auto shows with his family. He loved the feel of the road while cruising on his Harley motorcycle, the name he gave to his beloved dog. He was also a jack of all trades, tinkering in the garage fixing broken yard equipment. Patrick was blessed with a great talent for music.
He learned to play tenor saxophone at Oak Grove Elementary School under the guidance and mentoring of Bill Overton and continued to play in the Libertyville High
School marching, concert, jazz band and jazz ensemble. He furthered his music education by earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music -Saxophone Performance with an Emphasis in Jazz as well as his Master’s Degree in Music Education from Carthage College. Patrick was one of the proud founding members of the Cigar Society of Carthage College. He also participated in the Pep band and drum line playing at football games, as well as traveling to Japan with the Wind Ensemble. He further shared his love for music teaching elementary general music at Racine Unified School District in Racine Wisconsin. His music passion intensified when he became a family member of the band “Sneezy” in 2012.
He noticed the love of his life, Frances Skurski, while playing a Sneezy concert. Patrick was onstage playing his heart out and Frances was in the audience dancing her heart out. The music stayed in their hearts, they fell in love and married on July 24th, 2021. The past two years they enjoyed living in their beautiful home just off of Hastings Lake Forest Preserve in Lindenhurst IL.
Patrick is survived by his loving wife, Frances (Skurski) Girdaukas; his brother, Josh; his mother, Kristin; his grandmother, Dorothy Hendee; his aunt and uncle, Kim and Mark Hendee (Dina Lambrecht) along with Philip Goodwin, a beloved family friend. Those left to cherish the blessing of amazing memories include many more wonderful in-laws, cousins, devoted friends, and bandmates, especially his family in Michigan, Georgia, Missouri and ‘up north in Wisconsin’ aka the ‘cuzzins’.
He was preceded in death by his father, Dr. Gerard Girdaukas and his older brother, David Girdaukas.
Service Date August 22, 2023
Funeral Home Piasecki Funeral Home
SERVICE LOCATION St. Anne Catholic Church
Funeral services honoring Patrick’s life will be held on Tuesday, August 22, 2023.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. with a visitation beginning at 9:30 a.m. at St. Anne Catholic Church, 9091 Prairie Ridge Blvd., Pleasant Prairie, WI.
The visitation and service may be viewed via livestream on the following link facebook.com/PiaseckiFuneralHome/live/. You do not need Facebook to watch.
Interment will follow in Ascension Cemetery, 1920 Buckley Rd., Libertyville, IL. A visitation for Patrick will be held on Monday, August 21, 2023 from 3:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at the Piasecki Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers, Patrick’s family would appreciate memorial remembrances to American Foundation for Suicide Prevention https://988lifeline.org or St. Anne’s Catholic Church https://st-anne.org.
