Long Beach aviator ‘was always on an adventure’

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“Our campus is in shock, and we are all trying to come to grips with this tragedy,” said Calabria. “Our hearts are with the family and friends of the two students who died. President [W. Hubert] Keen has released a message to the entire campus community and has reached out to the families of the victims to offer whatever comfort and support is needed, as well as to the student who survived.”

St. Ignatius Martyr Church was filled with mourners at Tuesday’s 10 a.m. funeral mass, with many people wiping away tears.

“She was devastated,” Deacon Tom Evrard said of Sheridan’s mother, a widow who raised Patrick and his brother, Phillip, after their father died unexpectedly about 30 years ago. “But she’s at peace. She’s very religious and she works very hard for the church.”

Evrard said that Rosemary Sheridan is involved in a number of outreach programs at St. Ignatius. “‘Woman of the church,’ they call her,” he said. “She’s a very holy, prayerful person.”

Neither Rosemary nor Phillip Sheridan spoke during the funeral service, but Patrick’s cousin Dan McCormack recalled fond memories. “He was a good kid, and he was always on an adventure somewhere, always on the run, and it’s very sad that he had to go so early,” McCormack said. “I’m going to miss him.”

McCormack, who played bagpipes outside the church before and after the mass to honor the family’s Irish heritage, said that Sheridan was always “doing his own thing,” and his mother said that he frequently invited neighbors to fly with him.

“He saw and visited more places in a very short time,” said Cooper. “He was looking for something. He will be missed, but I believe he is in a far better place today and he is at peace. He is fulfilled.”

Alex Costello and Anthony Rifilato contributed to this story.

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