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Patrick Edward Johannes. As sorry as he was to leave his family and friends, Patrick Edward Johannes passed away peacefully at his home attended by his loving family on Tuesday morning February 10, 2004, after a struggle with cancer. He was born October 8, 1938 in Black Hawk County, Iowa to Maurice Henry and Mary Phylis Mahoney Johannes. Pat was raised by his mother and his dear aunts, Frances Huber and Mary Cavanaugh. He attended the Sacred Heart School in Waterloo and graduated from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. He taught high school English and worked as a social worker before beginning his thirty-year career with the Public Health Service. He retired as a Senior Public Health Advisor for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, assigned to the Indian Health Service. He specialized in the prevention and treatment of communicable diseases, beginning his career as a "clap chaser." For obvious reasons, the details of his work were always unclear to his children. For many years they were told he "made things run smoothly," and did it so well that he eventually was promoted to "counting things." In retirement, he also worked for the New Mexico Department of Health. He was dedicated to excellence in his work and was a good friend to his many colleagues. They will miss the morning coffee that he had waiting for them at the start of the workday. In addition to work and his family, his lifelong enthusiasm was the study of the settling of the American West. He took his family to every Lewis & Clark historical marker, military fort and battlefield west of the Mississippi (most on more than one occasion). He was equally interested in Native American historical sites and wildlife areas. Favorite spots included Little Bighorn Battlefield, Fort Robinson, Nebraska, Bent's Old Fort, Bosque del Apache, City of Rocks, Bent's Old Fort, Mesa Verde, Carlsbad Caverns and the bat flight, Bent's Old Fort, Yellowstone National Park, The Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Las Vegas, NM, Molly's in Tijeras, Ole's Big Game Bar in Paxton, NE and Bent's Old Fort. His unique sense of humor created the family secret pass phrase: "A wet bird never flies at night" which was used in all manner of family misadventures. For an irreverent and wildly inaccurate family history, please consult Pat's work in the Johannes Family Album. A writer of specialized technical papers, he also wrote outrageous and hilarious fiction which was often described, to his face, as "sick and twisted." Pat was a brew master, baker, historian, genealogist, handicapper, explorer, camper and crossword puzzle solver; his contagious enthusiasm for these pursuits infects his wife and children. He was a founding member of the Writer's Bloc at Cherry Hills Library, belonged to the Albuquerque Genealogical Society, the Watsonian Society (an organization for Public Health Advisors) and the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation. Pat enjoyed an active retirement, briefly interrupted when he was hit by a city garbage truck while out for a walk. He was greatly chagrined that his wife merely told family and friends the truth rather than report that he had been struck by the Space Shuttle. The Green Bay Packers, Dave Barry, Alfred Hitchcock, Bill Mauldin, Robert Frost, Bill Bryson, Tony Hillerman, David McCullough, Travis McGee, Flashman have lost one of their greatest fans. The family will be consoled by listening to the Statler Brothers, Bobby Bare, Roger Miller and Willie Nelson and watching Casablanca, Zulu, John Wayne, Seinfeld and The Simpsons. Pat was predeceased by his parents, numerous aunts and uncles, close friend Paul Christianson, ol' pard Bruce Johnson of the Nebraska Sandhills, dog Cinder and cat Maynard. He is survived by his wife and dear companion Carolyn O'Hearn Johannes, brother James D. Johannes, M.D., children Michelle and Doug Boe, Mary Johannes, Patrick Johannes, Brian Johannes, Miles Raventon and Mariah Raventon; grandchildren Eric, Andy, Emily and Calle. In addition to many nieces and cousins, his in-laws, John O'Hearn, Rick and Roxanne O'Hearn and Onalee and Charles Kramer will miss his company. A special thank you to Drs. James Liebmann and James Rice and clinic staff members for their outstanding medical care. A Funeral Mass and interment will be held this Fall at Immaculate Conception Church of Blessing, Iowa. In lieu of flowers, please send memorial contributions to Immaculate Conception Church; c/o St. Mary's of Mt. Carmel Church; 1435 East Eagle Road; Waterloo, IA 50701. May God sleep on your pillow, may he hold you in the hollow of his hand, and may you be a long time in heaven before the devil knows that you're gone. Slainte! He'd want us all to have a beer for him.
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