KENNEBUNKPORT- Patrick DeSantis, 81, of Kennebunkport, Maine passed away Sunday February 18, 2024 at 12:12am surrounded by love and his family in his happy place.
Pat was born on October 19, 1942 to Dominick and Eride DeSantis in Hartford, Connecticut. He attended The School of Industrial Arts in NYC and graduated from Brewster High School in1960. He did a stint at SUNY Farmingdale before joining the Navy. He proudly served on the USS Raleigh as the Radarman for four years. He got his nose broken once or twice as a boxer in the Navy, the source of his famous “shnozz”.
Pat said the best advice his father ever gave him was “Get an inside job”. He was a naturally gifted artist from the beginning, effortlessly drawing since he was a kid. So after leaving the Navy he did the color for the Sunday comic strip Prince Valiant. He then got a job as a technical illustrator for the aerospace company Perkin Elmer where he worked his way up the ranks to head of the art department. At the ripe age of 50 he retired to pursue his dream of being a fine artist. He opened The P DeSantis Gallery in Kennebunkport in1993, ditched the tie, grew a ponytail, and never looked back.
Pat had a love of cooking and was famous for his “Sunday gravy and meatballs” paired with day-old Market Basket Italian bread and a jug of Uncle Carlo’s Chianti. He was proudly and loudly passionate about sports, mainly New York sports, which can be a dangerous thing in Maine. The Yankees and the Giants were his bag. He coached Little League and Pop Warner. As a child he developed a love of nature spending summers on his Uncle Joe’s farm in the Catskills. He would bring his family to summer there on the pond, and in the fall he would spend time lurking in the woods, hanging out in tree stands and squatting on giant boulders stalking deer. He eventually gave up the hunting aspect of hunting and became the English Muffin Maker for all the other hunters instead. “Live and let live”, became his motto.
Pat is survived by Margaret, his wife of 51 years, his daughter Susan Desantis and partner Mark Spaulding of Arundel; his daughter Pamela Martin and husband Dan of Biddeford; his son John DeSantis and wife Katie of Portland; his brother Michael DeSantis and wife Provi of Bethlehem, CT; and his grandchildren: Jett, Ronin, and Django Tachibana; Calliope Landgrebe; and Maddox DeSantis. He also leaves behind his beloved rescue doggo, Mr. Maximus Aurelius.
A Catholic Service for Pat will be held at 1pm on Friday March 8th at St Martha’s in Kennebunk, followed by a Military salute at Arundel Cemetery and then some hootenanny at the P DeSantis Gallery at 77 North Street in Kennebunkport to celebrate his great life. Online condolence messages can be submitted at the Chad E. Poitras Cremation and Funeral Service website, www.mainefuneral.com. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Animal Welfare Society at PO Box 43 West Kennebunk, ME 04094.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Chad E. Poitras Cremation and Funeral Service, Buxton, www.mainefuneral.com
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