Patrick James Hennessy

January 26, 1989 - August 27, 2022

Patrick James Hennessy was the beloved son of James (deceased) and Vicki Hennessy, younger brother of Erin Hennessy-Clegg, dear nephew to Rose Marie Hennessy,OP, Peggy and Larry (deceased) Teshara, Linda Giguere, and Sloan Kristy (deceased). Cousin to Jesse Teshara, Gregory Teshara, and Nicole (Giguere) Dragoo.

Patrick was born in San Francisco and attended school at St. Stephen Catholic School. He was a happy child and excellent student, well liked by his classmates and teachers. Patrick was kind, creative, sensitive, and loved to make his family laugh. The word we heard most to describe Patrick was “polite.” His interests included drawing, sports, music, and most of all skateboarding. He loved watching skateboarding videos and practicing his skills at San Francisco skate parks. He also enjoyed traveling with his family, and we have many fond memories of our adventures with Patrick around the country and the world.

Patrick attended Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory High School, Squaw Valley Academy, and graduated from Galileo High School in 2007. By his late teens, Patrick experienced challenges related to his mental health, and began to self medicate with various substances. In his early twenties, he worked briefly for the SFPUC in the restaurant grease recycling program. He took pride in this work, but was unable to continue as his mental health symptoms and substance use increased. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and gradually isolated himself from friends and family. Patrick struggled with these co-occurring disorders for over ten years. His family supported him in his many attempts to manage his conditions and were ever hopeful that he would find the path to some peace and stability. He sought that peace through his belief in God, mental health treatment, and participation in multiple therapeutic programs. He left one such program two days before he died. After being free of illegal substances for 18 months, like many others in his situation, he self medicated one last time in amounts his system could no longer tolerate.

We all love Patrick and will always treasure the positive memories we have of him. We hope he has finally found the peace that eluded him for so many years.

Our family would like to thank all the social workers, mental health providers, addiction specialists, and others who worked to support Patrick over the years and continue their difficult work with others. A special acknowledgement to family friend and attorney Joe O’Sullivan who assisted him with legal issues and relentlessly encouraged him.

A Memorial Mass for Patrick will be celebrated at St. Stephen Catholic Church, 451 Eucalyptus Drive, San Francisco on Friday, October 7, 2022 at 10:00 am.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Spark* SF Public Schools Mental Health Initiative to support mental health services for young people in San Francisco. https://www. sparksfpublicschools.org/

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