Patrick O'Roark's Obituary
Patrick O’Roark, beloved husband, father, and most ardent Notre Dame football fan, passed
away on November 9, 2022, at Apple Grove Senior Living in Memphis, TN.
Patrick was born on June 10, 1958, in Memphis, TN to parents Jerry and Joanne O’Roark, where he lived for his entire life.
He was a proud alum of Christian Brothers College (now Christian Brothers University) – and he would correct you if you said CBU – where he was one of the elite eight founding fathers of the Pi-Epsilon Chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon. Through TKE, he found many lifelong, dear friends – Darrell, Felix, Phil, DJ – who remained close to him throughout his adult life.
Those left to cheer on the Fighting Irish in his memory include his devoted wife of nearly 40
years, Terry, whom he greatly cherished; his two daughters (and respective sons-in-law) Megan
O’Roark (Darwin Fu) of Nashville, and Molly O’Roark (Ronnie MacDuff) of Atlanta, who were his
pride and joy. Patrick held various marketing and business analyst positions beginning his
career at Holiday Inn, and ending at FedEx, as only a true Memphian could.
He is predeceased by both of his parents, grandparents Walter and Mary Stignani, and Harold
and Irene O’Roark. Patrick is survived by a large extended family including his brother, Kevin
O’Roark (Memphis), his favorite aunt, Anita Slade (Covington, GA), cousins Lee Shinaberry,
Chris Slade, Susie Hale, Ronnie Slade, Tommy Walker, and Susie Walker, and his very loving
family by marriage including his parents-in-law, Dan and Virginia Norton (Germantown, TN),
Lucy Wall, Jamie Dickson, Dennis & Sarah Norton, John & Norna Norton, and niece Catherine
Norton Simpson.
Patrick was quick-witted, warm, and loved to make other people laugh. This infectious energy
was experienced by many through the 13 years of teaching Sunday school at St. Francis of
Assisi Catholic Church, where he and his wife are longtime parishioners. In addition to nurturing
his full-time fandom of Notre Dame, he loved Pixar movies, rocking out to country music outlaws
and classic rock, Scrabble, grilling, attending musicals and theatre, and collecting odd bits of
trivia that he loved to dazzle people within conversation.
As a doting father, he spent many years taking his daughters to their various music lessons and
attending their concerts, always bemoaning that they never started on time. In lieu of flowers,
the family suggests donations can be made in his memory to either the Nashville Philharmonic
Orchestra or the Urban Youth Harp Ensemble, two musical organizations that his daughters are
actively engaged with today.
A celebration of life Mass will be held on Tuesday, November 15th at 10:00am with a family
visitation from 9:30am-10:00am at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Cordova, TN. A
funeral procession will follow with a graveside service at Memorial Park. Following the graveside
service, the family would like to invite everyone to a reception at Parkside Event Center at
Memorial Park. As Patrick was never one to enjoy formal events nor to do things like anybody
else, the family invites those that join in the services to wear comfortable clothes in any form of
navy, gold, and green.
The family wishes to extend their very heartfelt gratitude to the entire staff, caregivers, nurses,
and doctors at Apple Grove Senior Living, who provided a safe and caring environment for the
last 18 months of his life
What’s your fondest memory of Patrick?
What’s a lesson you learned from Patrick?
Share a story where Patrick's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Patrick you’ll never forget.
How did Patrick make you smile?
