Our deepest condolences Pat.
May you find comfort in the love and memories you shared.

Aguayo Family

We are so incredibly sorry about Jim’s passing. Our hearts ache during this difficult time.

We will always cherish the beautiful memories we’ve shared over the years—singing Christmas carols as the snow fell on our way up to Cloudcroft, laughing together, and feeling the magic of the season. And of course, I’ll never forget dancing with Jim—he truly loved to dance, and his joy was infectious. Those moments will stay with me forever.

Please know that you are not alone. We are all here for you, holding you close in our hearts. If there is anything we can do, please don’t hesitate to reach out. May you find comfort in the love that surrounds you and in the precious memories you and Jim created together

With much love

Frank and Peggy Ortiz

St. Patrick's Day was both of ours Saint Day.

He always had German chocolate cake on his birthday since he was little and his mom always made it for him.

Thank you, Grandpa, for always being my oki buddy and for answering my endless questions. Thank you for all the bike rides we went on, the memories we made at the cabin, and the hikes we took together. Thank you for being a firm grandpa when we needed it and a loving grandpa the rest of the time. Thank you for all the laughs you gave us and for everything you influenced me to be. Most of all, thank you for being my grandpa and for taking care of my Nana. We all miss you very very much down here, but thank you for watching over us from up above. I love you lots, Gpop. :)

This was one of the random trails we went on while exploring. It wasn’t this trail, but i remember we went and stopped at a different trail to go check it out and when we got kind of deep into the brush we noticed we were starting to get swarmed by horseflies. They started biting us and we were like okay let’s get out of here cause the bites actually kind of hurt and we started running out down the trail. On the way out we came across this little hill and me being young and nimble just jumped down. My grandpa on the other hand thinking he was younger than he was just jumped down and ended up hitting his face and bending his classes a bit. But grandpa PJ is a strong dude so he just got up and we kept going after a little laugh together.

This is a pic we took at one of the spots we stopped at. Didn’t really have a camera holder person so we didn’t really get any together pics on this trip sadly. But another thing my grandpa gave me was my love for nature, we used to go on hikes all the time and me being my curious child self would just ask a million questions about everything I saw in the forest. I was like wow what are these bb ball things on the floor, and he’d tell me it’s rabbit poop lol, or this weird thing growing on the tree and he would tell me it’s some kind of mushroom, or I would see some animal tracks and he would tell me what kind of animal it was. My grandpa never had a problem answering my million questions I always had, if anything I think he enjoyed my curiosity.  Nowadays, living out in Okinawa, I find myself exploring all kinds of natural beauty. Although it is much different from the kind of nature walks me and my grandpa would go on, I still love going and just looking at every piece of nature on the way.

This was one of the last me and grandpa trips  we went on right before I went to boot camp. I really am glad I went and did this trip with gpop, especially because when I came back I got news that his mental condition was getting worse and he wasn’t the same after that :(. Gpop and I went on an all day trip, we got some super good burgers and tots in Cloudcroft before heading out further. After that we just drove through all of the mountains with no plan and no destination, listening to oldies the whole time. We ended up stopping like 2-3 times at random hiking trails and vistas to just check stuff out. One of the things I think my grandpa influenced the most for me is how much I love to adventure, he was always a let’s just keep going and see what’s around the corner kind of person, whether it was a bike ride that he, my dad, and I would go on, or a car ride through the forest, or a hike , he loved to just keep going and exploring.

He was so happy on this day as I was as well. We both wanted to get married by church and it took awhile. It finally happened and we were both so happy.

Crystal playing Marine Corp song to PJ while he was at home on hospice

Took my G-Pop for his afternoon PT walk with my dog Buddy. Even then he was still on the move! This walk reminded me of when I was little and he would take us on hikes with him near his cabin or the “Big Red House” as my brother Ricky and cousin Selina call it. He was always walking so fast up there he knew the trails like the back of his hand from being in the Forest Service and we would always have to try and keep up haha! He was always a very active person even for a Grandpa! These days I will miss with him❤️

PJs with his dad on his graduation from Marine Corp Depot San Diego

Many besos in my time with him. We both enjoyed Christmas

Loved how he was always young at heart ❤️

He really enjoyed dancing and making us laugh!

It always warmed my heart to see them happy and in love.

I’m gonna miss these rides in the mountains with my son and his grandpa. His famous quote when we asked “Where are we going G-pop?” (that’s his cool name the grandkids gave him), his reply was always “wherever the front wheel takes us”.  I love you and miss you PJ.

OBITUARY

Patrick James Haenelt Jr.

August 28, 1946 – February 22, 2025

Hillcrest Funeral Home

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