Terminally ill Tucson restaurateur holds 'pre-wake wake' to say his goodbyes

[Ptah]

2. Pastiche owner Pat Connors dies at 48

Pat Connors, the longtime Tucson restaurateur who threw his own pre-wake wake party last week to say goodbye to friends and family, died early Sunday after a months-long battle with lung cancer. He was 48.

His death came days after hundreds packed his central Tucson restaurant on Tuesday and stood in line for as long as an hour to give Connors one last hug and share memories.

“There is not a restaurateur in this town that has done more for this community than Julie (Connors) and Pat have,” said former restaurateur Michael Luria, whose family hired Connors in the 1990s for his first restaurant job at Terra Cotta, where the Connors met. “I don’t think there’s an instance where Pat and Julie said no. They exemplify what philanthropy in the business community looks like.”

“Pat is hands-down the most giving person in Tucson,” Doug Levy, chef/owner of Feast on East Speedway, said of his friend of nearly 30 years. “What I would hope is his legacy would be to remember what a kind, spirited, generous person he was.”

http://tucson.com/entertainment/dining/pastiche-owner-pat-connors-dies-at/article_77ad15cf-586f-521f-bdbc-96e3517f8edd.html