Patrick T. McGranaghan

The last of the Renaissance men has died. Patrick Thomas McGranaghan passed away on Jan. 23, in the home that he’d designed and built himself from trees he’d felled and plans held in a mind that knew few equals. That exceedingly rare balance of the physical and mental would be a calling card for Patrick his entire life. He bucked and split his own firewood into his 70s, burning it in a woodstove he’d designed and welded together himself that would last longer and throw more heat than any stove that could be bought on some showroom floor. Countless mornings, his sons would come downstairs to find their father sitting at the kitchen table, the broken-spined family dictionary and a college lined notebook splayed out in front of him, a pen in hand to take note of any word he didn’t already know or found particularly amusing. When the time came, he’d close the dictionary, lace up his work boots, and build a garage, fix his truck, or tend a garden that would feed his family, friends, and help fill food pantries.

Across his life, Patrick had a 300-plus pound bench press, baked lasagna far more delicious than a descendant of Éire had any right to, and coached his sons in baseball and hockey — he’d continue skating into his 60s, even returning to the ice after a hip replacement. He rode motorcycles, practiced yoga, and had the most diverse book collection this side of a Barnes & Noble. Patrick devoured literary fiction, history, biographies, and, for a challenge, college-level microbiology textbooks.

He was predeceased by his mother, Mary Breen McGranaghan; father Jerome McGranaghan; friend and brother-in-law Richard “Dick” Drew; and lifelong friend Thomas Churas. He leaves behind a wife, Elaine Drew McGranaghan; three sons, Stephen, Thomas and Michael; two daughters-in-law, Cami Pucci McGranaghan and Sarah Cochran; five grandchildren, Jack, Aidyn, Cole, Seamus and Eric; and one very high bar.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, March 14, at St. Gabriel’s Catholic Church in Franklin. A celebration of life will follow at noon, at the Merrimack Valley Railroad Function Hall in Northfield.

In lieu of flowers, read a book that challenges your mind, and then build something with your hands that will outlast you.