Huntington School Community's Heart is Broken
As word filtered through the Huntington School District community this past weekend that Woodhull Intermediate School sixth grader Patrick Hannon had passed away on Saturday at a Boy Scout camp in Rhode Island, every heart was broken.
The 1,800 acre Yawgoog Scout Reservation in rural western Hopkinton, near the Connecticut state line, is operated by the Narragansett Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Mr. Hannon's troop from Huntington was winding down a week-long stay at the camp and was due to depart for home on Sunday. David Preston, a spokesman for the Narragansett Council said, "This is the saddest day in the 96 year history of the camp."
"Patrick was an all-around great young man," Woodhull Principal Mary Stokkers said. "He was always so enthusiastic and excited about school and learning. Patrick was in the school play this past year and he really loved the experience. He had a great time performing on stage in The Music Man, Jr. as a member of the boys' band. He never missed a rehearsal and always had a smile on his face. He was such a happy boy, so polite to everyone."
The playbill for The Music Man, Jr. featured this nugget about Mr. Hannon: "Patrick is very unique and proud to have bright red hair. He likes that he stands out amongst a crowd. He loves his part in The Music Man."
"The Hannon's are a wonderful family and we share their anguish," Mrs. Stokkers said. "We are all absolutely devastated by this news."
The district has reached out to the staff and families of Woodhull Intermediate School and Flower Hill Primary School, where two of Patrick's siblings are enrolled. Counseling and related support services will be available at Woodhull on Monday, as well as at Jack Abrams School, where the Town of Huntington is operating the Project Play summer program. Many of Patrick's Woodhull classmates are participating in this program.
Support staff team members were scheduled meet at Woodhull at 8 a.m. and begin offering counseling services at both Woodhull School and Jack Abrams School by 9 a.m.
Visitation will be held M.A. Connell Funeral Home on New York Avenue in Huntington Station on Tuesday, July 19 from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. and on Wednesday, July 20 from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. A funeral Mass will be offered at St. Patrick's Church on Main Street in Huntington on Thursday, July 21 at 9:45 a.m. with interment to follow at St. Patrick's Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the Hannon family would appreciate donations to the Boy Scouts of America or Catholic Home Bureau.
"On behalf of all Scouts, we wish to convey our sincere condolences to the family of the young Scout who passed away this morning," wrote Narragansett Council President Andy Hewitt and David Anderson, a Boy Scouts executive in a joint statement. "We know we speak for his many, many friends here at camp and at home when we say that he and his family are foremost in our thoughts and prayers today, and will remain there. We know that all Scouts join us in remembering his spirit and kindness, and in praying for his family that they may find comfort in this trying time."