Patrick Shawn McGrath

It is with deep sadness we share that Patrick McGrath died unexpectedly on August 3, 2023, in Fair Oaks, California, at the age of 60.

Pat was born the seventh of 10 to Michael Robert McGrath and LaVerne Peck, in El Paso, Texas. Quiet and kind, he was a loving and generous person whose memory we treasure. He was trustworthy always and could be relied upon to offer a listening ear and practical help to others. He had a poetic soul and was always reading – in every city, he’d find the public library first.

From the age of six, when Pat sold Spudnuts every Saturday door-to-door in nearby neighborhoods, he was exceptionally hard-working. As a teen, he had multiple paper routes and repaired vacuum cleaners in the family Kirby business, later working on father Mike’s sales team. After high school, he worked three jobs at the same time, also expanding his skillset as a mechanic and handyman.

In 1982-83 Patrick lived and worked in the remote rural villages of the Petén and Izabal regions of Guatemala. His linguistic skills were exceptional. He quickly learned the indigenous K’ekchi language from colleagues who only spoke Spanish and K’ekchi. He loved working with the indigenous people in the mountains, a transformative experience that deeply inspired his soul and life.

Pat returned to the greater metropolitan Sacramento area, improving his constructions skills and managing multiple apartment facilities for corporate owners. His Spanish came in very handy for communicating with workers on his repair and maintenance teams. The great depth of interpersonal, mechanical, planning and intellectual skills he developed over the years brought him positions managing complex multiple projects for the Northern California campuses of Franklin Templeton Investments. Later, for the State of California’s Judicial Council, he provided long-term facility planning, operations and asset management, emergency and security planning for California’s state courts. He retired this year from Kitchell Corporation.

A devoted husband and father, he married Bonnie Ruth Stanford in 1991 and they were blessed with two sons, Duncan and Colin. He worked alongside his boys, giving them an example of sharing generously, respecting others, and offering service to extended family and the community. His incredible patience in difficult situations brought about healing solutions with others – a rare talent in today’s world.

Patrick’s insight, loving nature and helpfulness to so many will be deeply missed by his family, friends and colleagues. We greatly mourn losing his thoughtful support and perceptive influence in our lives.

Patrick was preceded in death by his wife Bonnie; also his parents Mike and LaVerne and siblings Michael W., Teresa, Wendy and David. He is survived by his sons Colin and Duncan McGrath; siblings Jamie McGrath, Elizabeth Moote, Becky McGrath and Daniel McGrath; and nieces and nephews Jennifer, Jessica, Shelline, Megan, Steven, Caitlin, Erin, Benjamin, Jared, Elise, Teresa, Aubrey, and Shannon.

Join us in paying last respects to Patrick on Thursday, August 17 at the Lambert Funeral Home, 400 Douglas Blvd., Roseville. For those wishing to attend the viewing, it will begin at 1 p.m. The funeral service will begin at 2 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Sacramento Children's Home.