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Community Corner

CONCORD FARMER

CONCORD - Patrick F. McGrath, 64, of the McGrath Farm died unexpectedly Saturday, June 30, 2012 in Concord.  He was the brother of Michael McGrath of 440 Barretts Mill Road and the cousin of Susan (Renhult) Davies of 109 Nimrod Drive and her husband Christopher and their children, William of Somerville, MA, and Matthew of Cambridge, MA. He is also survived by Kathy McGrath of Brooklyn, CT, and Jimmy McGrath of Etna, NH.

Born in Concord on November 10, 1947, he was the son of Thomas McGrath and Anne Root McGrath.  He attended the Concord schools and was a 1965 graduate of Concord Carlisle Regional High School.  He attended Parsons College in Iowa and Belknap College in New Hampshire.

The first ten years of his childhood were spent at Intervale Farm on Sandy Pond Road with his parents and his brother; his grandparents, George and Olive Root; his aunt, Heddie (Root) Kent and her husband Howard (Tack) Kent; his cousin, Susan (Renhult) Davies; and her parents, Walter and Olive (Pete) Renhult.

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He devoted his life to rejuvenating and maintaining the McGrath Farm on Barretts Mill Road, which his grandfather had bought from the Barrett family.  They were the only two families ever to have farmed that land.  He was particularly proud of his strawberry and asparagus beds.

During the off seasons, Patrick and his former wife, Janice, traveled the world from Australia and New Zealand to England, Ireland and Scotland, and Spain and Morocco.

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Will and Matt Davies, always enjoyed talking to Patrick about their common musical interests.  They were particularly impressed by the fact that he had attended The Who concert at The Boston Tea Party in the 60’s, which was a notable event at the time.

Patrick spent any time he could spare from the necessary chores of tilling the fields and harvesting the crops, tending the farm stand.  He is remembered fondly in that role by countless faithful customers, who visited the stand as much to socialize with Patrick as to buy his excellent produce.  He had many good friends in Concord and surrounding towns.

The family is intending to keep the farm stand open for the duration of this season.  They are immensely grateful to a host of volunteers who have offered to help out at the farm stand and in other ways.  They are particularly grateful to Don Martinson and his wife and sons who are enormously helpful in organizing and dealing with the farm equipment. We cannot say at this time what next year will bring, but if you want to help the family with the expenses of completing Patrick’s season, contact:  Christopher Davies at:  chrisdavies2321@gmail.com.

A memorial gathering to celebrate Patrick’s life will be planned for the fall.

Arrangements are under the care of Charles W. Dee, Jr. and Susan M. Dee, Directors, Dee Funeral Home of Concord.

To share a memory in Patrick’s guest book, visit 

www.deefuneralhome.com.

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