Obituary of Patrick Touchette

Pat Touchette was born on August 25, 1948, to Bud and Mary Touchette in Portsmouth, Virginia, the second son of a career military family. When he was seven, he threatened to run away from home if his mom refused to enroll him in military school in Texas. She refused and he ran away, wearing only his skivvies, which was all his mom said he could take with him. She found him a few blocks away and was able to keep him out of the service until he joined the Marines in 1967. Pat honorably served two tours of duty in Viet Nam, was for a time a member of the U.S.M.C. Silent Drill Team, and as a drill sergeant taught hundreds of other young men to be U.S. Marines. In 1978 he met and married Katy Chidichimo, and they raised three children, Debbie, Jamie, and Joey, spending most of their married life together in Twin Falls. While Pat spent his working life first as a Marine and then in different law enforcement roles, he will be mostly remembered as a very good man. He wanted his children to grow into strong and independent adults who would help make the world a better place, and he was always there for them, no matter how rough their roads might be. He was a good and faithful husband and was his wife’s best friend, and they shared a lifetime of both happiness and tears, never losing their deep love and respect for each other. While Pat’s last few years were trying at times due to illness or injury, he said the last three years were “wonderful,” as he learned so much about himself and saw his faith in God grow more deeply every day. Pat will be remembered by those who knew and loved him best as an honorable man who never was afraid to speak out against injustice of any kind. Maybe he was hard-headed and a bit too opinionated at times, but he was, and will always be to use who love him, one of the truly good guys. Pat was preceded in death by his parents and brother Danny. He is survived by his wife and three children, as well as Joey’s dear wife Jerika; his brothers Mike (Pam) Touchette and Paul (Crystal) Touchette; sister Mary Beth (Rick) Schiermeier; many nieces and nephews; and the Chidichimo family, who had no clue what a force of nature he was when they first met him in 1978. Thank you to all the friends from all walks of life, whether Pat’s friends, his wife’s friends and co-workers, or his children’s friends who prayed for Pat and made his passage from this life to the next just a single step. Special thanks to Charlie Cothern for being with Pat in his last days. It was the best medicine Pat could have had. Rest in peace, God bless you and keep you, and Semper Fi. A funeral Mass will be held on Friday January 24, 2014 at 11:00 am at St. Edwards Catholic Church with a rosary held on Thursday January 23, 2014 at 7 pm at Rosenau Funeral Home. Arrangements are under the direction of Dustin Godfrey and the staff at Rosenau Funeral Home.