THE BALL FAMILY GRAND RAPIDS, MI
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Pat & Laura
Children - (5) Nicole, Joe, Lindsey, Kelly, Maddy Grandchildren - (8) Lillian, Aila, Sam, Cameron, Landon, Keira, Quinn, Anna "We grew up with the Catholic faith and Jimmy Buffett" - Nicole |
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Favorite Tropical Vacation Destination
Toes in the Sand at Jax Beach, FL
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Pat & Laura Ball
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Pat always had to have a view of the water from his hotel room
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Pat's favorite tiki bar in Jax Beach
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Pat's favorite place to stay in Jax Beach overlooking the Atlantic Ocean
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ONCE A BEACH BUM
ALWAYS A BEACH BUM |
Born in 1956, Pat was raised on Myer's Lake in Rockford, Michigan. As a young boy, he fell in love with the beach and it didn't matter if it was the ocean or not. He just loved being by the water. Pat was pretty much a beach bum right from the start.
When it came time for Pat to start adulting, he could always be found on a beach or sitting at at tiki bar drinking his favorite beer while listening to Jimmy Buffet. Pat had a saying, "there is never a wrong time for Jimmy Buffett." The beach bum life never ended for Pat even after marrying the love of his life, who together, added five children and eight grandchildren for a grand total of 13 more beach bums into the mix.
More years pass and their nest continues to empty. When their son moves to Jax Beach, Pat and Laura begin traveling down there about two to three times a year. Their trips are usually for special occasions. One time they went down to see their first grandchild being born.
Some of their best trips were simply to spend some alone time enjoying each other's company in peace and quiet, which they had not experienced since nine months after being married. Eventually, the entire family began a tradition of traveling down to Jax Beach so they could spend quality time together, as well as recharge their batteries. |
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BUBBLES UP
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A sailor will follow the bubbles up to the water's surface to escape drowning if a boat capsizes. Jimmy Buffett wrote one of his three Posthumous singles, "Bubbles Up," to remind those who are on a long and difficult journey trying to find their way that the sun will shine again. In May of 2014, Pat and his family found themselves on a rollercoaster of a journey when he suffered a Widow-Maker heart attack.
The survival rate of the average heart attack is around 90% depending on variable factors such as age, pre-existing conditions, and the severity of the heart attack. The Widow-Maker is not the average heart attack which, according to the American Heart Association, has a low survival rate of just 12%. Against all odds, Pat recovered and was right back to work as soon as he was medically cleared. Nine months later on Valentine's Day 2015, just when the sun was beginning to shine again, Pat began experiencing pain again in his chest and left arm and found himself back in the emergency room. Thinking that he was having another heart attack turned out to be a tumor in his lungs that was causing pressure against the nerves that traveled through his chest and left arm. Instead of being admitted to cardiology, Pat was admitted to Oncology. It was discovered that the cancer in his lungs had spread to his left hip resulting in a Stage Four Lung Cancer diagnosis. The shock of the news left the family devastated. Afterall, it was less than a year ago that they watched as paramedics applied CPR to Pat who, against all odds, survived a widow-maker heart attack and now he is up against even tougher odds. The news was also a shock to Pat thinking everything was all good since he was back to work after being medically cleared. Determined to fight the cancer, Pat sought out his next steps as soon as he was able to grasp the situation. He researched different diets, treatments, and kept working until his body would not let him. Pat did all that he could do to follow the bubbles. Throughout the chemotherapy, radiation, and immunotherapy, Pat managed to keep his spirits up and made the most of everyday that he was given to live. He always had a smile on his face and always managed to put a smile on everyone's face with his jokes, especially with his doctors and nurses. Pat never let things get him down. He had such a grateful and happy attitude (Patitude). The treatments lasted until 2019 when the immunotherapy stopped working. For the most part, Pat's condition was stable, and he was living well beyond the typical life expectancy for his condition. In 2020, things took a turn for the worse. It was believed that Pat had contracted COVID-19 causing him to be hospitalized until he was released into hospice care on Thanksgiving Day 2020. |
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MAKE LIFE TROPICAL
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After a long winter in hospice care, Pat's health had made it difficult for him to venture beyond the deck in the backyard because he was limited to the 25-foot distance that the tube from his oxygen tank would allow. Those restrictions didn't matter to Pat as long as he had his family around him and Jimmy Buffet playing in the background. The family did manage to get him over to Fred's Pizza from time-to-time which was his favorite, especially during his chemo treatments when he craved it the most.
Pat could no longer travel and realizing how difficult it must have been for him not to be able to travel down to Jax Beach, Pat's second youngest daughter, Kelly, wanted to bring the tropical life of Jax Beach to his backyard. She drew up plans for a tiki bar and brought the family together to help gather materials and break ground for construction. During construction, Pat was usually out on the deck observing and, at times, providing a little supervision as the tiki bar began to take shape. He would even sit at the bar while it was being painted and before the thatch roof was installed. In less than three weeks, the tiki bar was completed and ready for its official opening day on May 23rd, 2021 which was just in time to celebrate the baptism of Pat's granddaughter. |
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CAN'T CHANGE YOUR LATITUDE...
CHANGE YOUR PATITUDE 
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When Pat could no longer change his latitude, the family came together and transformed his home into a tropical paradise and ultimately changed his Patitude. Having his very own tiki bar that he could still "go belly up to the bar" with gave him the "extra pep in his step" to stay out there longer with everyone. The tiki bar provided Pat with a little more normalcy. The sun had come out again. Pat was Living Tropical Where He Lived!
Pat's tiki bar had a far more reaching effect than what it did for his attitude. It had a considerable impact on the attitude of his friends and family because the tiki bar provided them with a better reason, other than being in hospice care, to spend time with Pat. They stopped by because they heard about the tiki bar and simply wanted to hang out with Pat. Each day spent with Pat at his tiki bar was just another normal day together and a great way to have the most fun with him during his last days. |
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COME MONDAY
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Pat's last days lasted over six years, a win that doctors described as a walking miracle that could only be attributed to the love and support that he received from family and friends along the way. On Saturday, August 1st, 2021, Pat had passed away.
Sunday morning came and Pat was not there when the family came together outside by the tiki bar. When they turned the music on, the first song that played from Pat's playlist was "Come Monday" by Jimmy Buffett. "Come Monday it will be alright." "That was our first, he is here but he is not here, moment." "It was as if dad was telling us that everything is going to be alright." |
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BUSCH BEER, BEER PONG, AND A WHOLE LOTTA LOVE
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Pat was laid to rest on August 5th, 2021 and after the funeral service, the family gathered back at the tiki bar. Music was playing while the adults played beer pong and Pat's granddaughter was standing on the cooler behind the bar pretending to be a bartender as she handed out pops to everyone. Pat's cousin gave her a dollar bill which is now displayed as the first dollar the tiki bar has ever made. The family had koozies made with a picture of him drinking a Busch beer and to this day, there is and will always be a can of Busch beer in a koozie at the tiki bar for Pat.
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This is how Pat would have wanted his family and friends to celebrate his life. He would want to be remembered as he was before he was sick - a tan guy wearing a baseball hat with a big smile on his face drinking a beer or the guy who drank Busch beer out of a Sponge Bob cup on Jax Beach because he did not want to get caught drinking...
One might think that Pat's best days were before his heart attack and stage four lung cancer. His last days, however, tell a different story. He spent every moment possible out by the tiki bar with his family and a cold beer in his hand listening to Jimmy Buffett music. He loved hearing the grandchildren screaming and playing in the background. It was there that his grandchildren had the most fun serving him up, what he considered to be the best root beer floats in the world. No matter if they had served him up an old open can of pop, Pat made them feel like they had just served him the best Mai Tia in Hawaii. Family, friends, a tiki bar, a cold beer, and a whole lotta of love gave him the best last days. |
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FAMILY TRADITION
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To the Ball family, today, the tiki bar represents tradition. They are comfortable sitting there talking about Pat. When Laura (Pat's wife) sits in her room and stares out at the tiki bar, it makes her happy because she can still see him sitting there. The grandchildren, who do not have their own memories of Pat during his pre-cancer days, get to know him through the memories shared by others around the tiki bar.
The tiki bar was built for Pat so that he could enjoy his last days with his family and friends in his own little piece of paradise. The tiki bar, however, is about so much more than those last days. Since Pat's passing, the tiki bar has kept Pat's spirit alive in the hearts of his family and friends. When people look at the Busch beer can in a koozie on the bar, they see him. They built the tiki bar for him, but the life that Pat made for them is the real gift...and when the family hears Jimmy Buffett music, they think of their husband, father, papa, and friend. 
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OLD CANS OF POP
AND ROOT BEER FLOATS 
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The story of why the Ball family built Pat a tiki bar when he could no longer travel is very touching. Sitting in Pat's dining room and listening to his wife and three daughters tell the story of his last days made me realize that there is more to this story than meets the eye.
I learned a lot about Pat during my two-hour interview with Laura, Nicole, Lindsey, and Kelly. Being that I am not as close to the story as they are, I may have discovered something that they may have missed. Their intent was to build a tiki bar so that Pat could live out his last days the way that he was meant to live. They wanted to make him happy. Everything that they set out to do worked, but there is a twist to their story. I believe that they were all played in the same way that Pat played his grandchildren when they wanted nothing more than to make papa happy by serving him up an old can of pop or a root beer float. Pat took that happiness and flipped it right back on the grandchildren just to see them be happier than they made him. In the same way, the tiki bar was intended to bring Pat as much happiness as possible during his last days, but he flipped that happiness right back on everyone else making them even happier than it made him. Pat took a gift that was intended to make him happy and used it to make everyone else just as happy, if not more. In his last days, Pat used the tiki bar to show his family how to live every day the way that they were meant to live. He wanted them to be happy after he was gone. He wanted the family to always get together for special occasions. Most importantly, he wanted his family to remember just how much that he loved them. He showed them how to follow the bubbles up.
"The tiki bar has taught us that we want to be where our family is," says Nicole. "It has taught us the importance of keeping life simple...to celebrate the milestones right outside in our backyard...to celebrate the small things...and to LIVE TROPICAL WHERE YOU LIVE."
It seems that Pat's plan worked. I imagine him up in Heaven where it is always five o'clock, sitting at a tiki bar with a can of Busch beer in one hand and high-fiving Jimmy Buffett with the other while thinking to himself, "I did it!" PAT BALL
1956 - 2021 
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SNOW! CAMERA! ACTION!
In early November, four Santa Clause suits were put on notice at a local costume shop in readiness for a good snowfall and that day came sooner than we had expected. I woke up early November 29th to a beautiful snowfall and summoned the four Santa suits into action. Once we had the suits and some additional props we headed over to the tiki bar on the NE side of Grand Rapids (see video to right). |
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As soon as all four Santas, Travis (Pat's son-in-law), Mike (nephew), Greg (nephew), and AJ (grand-nephew), were all suited up (see video to left), we headed out into the cold. Over 100 pictures were taken at the tiki bar with the Santas in search of that one perfect picture to put on the back of the Unsalted Parrot, Not-So-Ugly, Ugly sweater.
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Thank you to the Ball family for sharing their story of their loving husband, father, papa, and friend. Pat left a legacy of happiness, positivity, togetherness, and love along with so many wonderful memories. I could not have put together such a powerful story of a legendary man without the generosity of the Ball family who were so willing to share their story and all of the photos that they snapped of every moment that they had with Pat.
I never had the privilege of meeting Pat, but from the heartwarming stories that were shared with me, I feel like I know him. I see him in his family. Pat's way of life was and continues to be contagious. He is truly an Unsalted Parrot! To the Ball family, keep snapping those pictures and making new memories. Keep Living Life Tropical Where You Live! That is what Pat would have wanted. Stay Salted on the Inside! Dave Evanoski – Founder & Sole Proparrotor
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