Patrick Van Slyke

Patrick Van Slyke passed on to new life with Jesus on January 22, 2022, in Arvada Colorado, after a long, courageous battle with cancer.

Patrick was born to Clyde Van Slyke and Polly Horras on January 15, 1967, in Olympia, WA. When he was eight, the family moved and settled in Sheridan, Wyoming, where he attended grade school, high school, and junior college. After a number of years at various jobs, while serving in the Wyoming National Guard, Patrick decided to make a move to warmer weather in California and made his home there for the past thirty-five years.

During that time he had many careers, but one that he was quite proud of was his purchase and expansion of the company Assisted Living Placements. He felt he was doing God’s work by finding assisted living for families who were no longer capable of taking care of a loved one and didn’t know where to turn.

He later decided to do something that some people only dream of doing, and that was to pursue a passion and a degree later in life. In 2016, he graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 4.0 GPA from California State Los Angeles with a BA in TV and Film Production, while working part-time at KGEM TV in film and video production. In 2019, he received an MFA degree at California State University, Los Angeles in Dramatic Writing for TV Film and Theater, and also became a lecturer there. He was a member of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, and the Writer’s Guild of America, West.

As a recovering alcoholic and drug addict, with seventeen years of sobriety, he was dedicated and grateful to Alcoholics Anonymous and made many friends there. He was always willing to share his experiences, trials, and triumphs, and much of it impacted his creative writing. We are all blessed knowing that Patrick maintained his courage, sense of humor, and joy up to the very end. We want to recognize and thank Jack Savage and Kathy Harrison who embraced Patrick for many years as part of their family, providing friendship, support, and housing for Patrick, especially the past few years while he was ill. Patrick was preceded in death by his father, Clyde. He will be sadly missed by his mother, Polly, daughter Natasha of Indiana, sister Libby and brother Brad (Basia), all of Arvada, Colorado, as well as four nephews.

A rosary and Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday, February 23, 2022 at St. Joan of Arc Church in Arvada, CO at 10 A.M. with Father Nathan Goebel officiating. Burial will be at Golden Cemetery, Golden CO.