Patricia Peterson Friend Crucett Sanzari, "Patti", "Grandma" or better known to my brothers and I as the most beautiful name in the world, "MOM" was the most amazing, beautiful soul that I have ever known in my entire life, which is why I feel that she needs a page dedicated to her and to keep her memory alive.

She was the sweetest, kindest most honest & OVERLY sincere person that I have ever known. She'd drop anything at the drop of a hat to lend a helping hand to anyone in need and NEVER once asked for anything in return. If you needed money and all she had in her pocket was 10 cents, she'd go out of her way to get you 11. She'd always be there to listen and console. She'd make every holiday and birthday for her loved ones better than the ones before. She'd walk into a room and it would just *light up* because her personality was far beyond anyone elses by simply being herself. At parties and events, she'd be the first one up singing & dancing and made damn sure everyone else had a good time. Saying she was "so full of life" is an understatement of a lifetime because the woman laughed, joked and smiled more than anyone I've ever known. She knew how to take any negative situation and make it into something positive and fun. Even when doctors diagnosed her with the Cancer, her words were "F*ck this, I'm partying it up because I'm not dead just yet!"......That was just her. =)   She found good and wholesomeness in anyone and everyone. If someone bad mouthed her or put her down, she'd let it roll right off her shoulder, not retaliate and STILL somehow find something nice to say about them because she was a firm believer in "life is too short to have enemies." The one thing I miss the most is her singing..whether she'd be cleaning, doing laundry, cooking or simply clipping coupns, the woman would just bust out into song in the sweetest voice possible.

My mother enjoyed so many things in life, too many to mention, but, there were some things that stick out the most because they were her favorite... She LOOOOVED Betty Boop. Betty Boop EVERYTHING. She had picture frames all over the house with her on it, about 100 BB magnets on the fridge, purses, earrings and if you knew Patti, you KNEW her trademark clothing were her Betty Boop t-shirts. When cleaning out her closet after her passing, I found at least 40 Betty Boop t-shirts. It was prwtty funny actually. =)   She also LOVED her New York Giants. I never met such a Giants fan like my mother. When at home watching the game, she'd be the first one to stand up and scream when they scored and the first one to curse off the tv when messing up. Haha, it was pretty awesome. If you knew my mothers way of speaking, then you'd know how her "North Bergen accent" sounded when she'd scream, "Hey! Whaddya dooin'? Come onnn a**hole!" How I miss those days. She knew everything about the game of football and had met and gotten autographs from many famous players and commentators over the years. Mom had connections! She also loved her New York Yankees, like myself, she loved her Jeter, but in Mom's voice, it was "Jeeta." =')  Music wise, she LOVED LOVED LOVED Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen, Stix, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra, Billy Joel, just to name a few. She was also, like myself, OBSESSED with Lifetime movies. That was one of "our" things to do. Snuggle up on opposite sides of the couch with a glass of wine or cup of tea and just watch Lifetime movies until we'd pass out. =)

Her favorite place in the world was the Jersey Shore. She loved being on the boardwalk in Point Pleasant, going into the shops, ESPECIALLY the candy shop where she ALWAYS had to buy a candy apple. She couldn't not go there without going to that store and buying her candy apple. She'd sometimes get in the car and take a drive there SIMPLY to go to that store. She loved the beach as well. In the summer, she'd be on the beach at 8am and not leave until close to sunset, she loved it, it kept her at peace. She loved going to Atlantic City to the Borgata and sitting at her penny slot machines. It made her happy, especially when she won. =) She also loved concerts, shopping going to the movies.....but, her most FAVORITE thing to do, more than anything else in the world, was going to Bingo. Bingo bingo bingo! She was addicted and enjoyed it so much.

I haven't been able to say this until now because it has made me choke up during my many attempts, which is why I chose to write it here. One of the last things my mother said to me right before she slipped into her "state of daze" right before her coma, will stick out in my mind forever. While alone with her in the hospital room she said to me that the greatest thing about her life was having my brothers and I. She said more times than she can count, we made her overly angry and almost pushed her over the edge with our "bulls**t", but she loved us so incredibly much that no matter how "little" she technically had. she felt that she had everything because she had us. She said the existence of my brothers and I is what made her life worth living. She said to me that she would be with me ALWAYS and that she did NOT want my brothers and I to go on crying and mourning over her for the rest of our lives. She said she wanted us to live, be successful, be happy and to carry on her memory in the happiest way possible. She said she did her part in raising us and at the ages of 39, 35 & 25 (at the time) that we were full-grown adults and we had to learn to carry on independently without her and that she had full faith that we would do so. She said sitting around and crying everyday wouldn't be healthy for us and we wouldn't be able to achieve our goals in life. She said that it would be okay to cry to time to time, but not to let it consume us. She just cared that much, she loved being our mother, and having her as a mother was the BEST thing in the world and I speak for my brothers as well when I say that we wouldn't have had it any other way. She was simply perfect. =)

She also loved her friends. Oh how she adored her friends. She had so many. They drove her nuts all the time, but she wouldn't have ever wanted to go through life without them. They kept her going, they kept her motivated, they kept her alive and never let her spirits die.

My mother, Patti was born on January 30, 1951. She was born and rasied in North Bergen, NJ. She went to school in town as well where she graduated from NBHS in 1970. On March 3, 1971 at the age of 20, she gave birth to her first son, Edward Charles Friend, "Eddie." On February 6, 1975 at the age of 24, she gave birth to her second son Joshua Michael Friend, "Josh" and on May 3, 1985 at the age of 34, she gave birth to her only daughter, me, Shannon Mikal Crucett. On March 20, 1998, she was blessed with a grandson, Waylon Edward Friend. She was also an employee of the North Bergen Police Department as a 911/police dispatcher for 26 years (1984- 2010). Two days after her 59th birthday on February 1, 2010 doctors diagnosed her with terminal Pancreatic Cancer and told her that she wouldn't make it any more than 2-3 months. Miraculously, she made it EIGHT more months and passed away in the early afternoon of October 6, 2010 at the young age of 59.

My mother was a beautiful soul and I can only hope that her memory will live on in the hearts and minds of those that knew and adored her. I can only hope that my mothers' ways, sayings and actions will stay alive through me, especially being that I was her only daughter. In a lot of ways I have "become" my mother and those that have never met her, say to me often that they feel like they already "know her" through me and they "feel her presence" when I speak of her.

I am so blessed to have had her as my mother bust most importantly as my best friend. What I will remember for the rest of my life were the last words that I heard her speak to me before she couldn't talk anymore, the sweetest, most beautiful line that will never sound the same coming out of anyone else's mouth...and those words were, "I love you, too."

Mommy, I know you can see this.....I Love you.

***I would love for ANYONE and EVERYONE to join her page and share whatever happy memories or stories you have of her. Thank you- Shan***