This memorial website was created in memory of our loved one, Patricio Cristian de la Fuente Saez, 44, born on November 8, 1972 and passed away on July 4, 2017. We will remember him forever.
Patricio Christian de la Fuente, son, father, brother and husband extraordinaire and wine aficionado left us today on July 4th, 2017 in his beloved Hong Kong. Since very early on, Patricio was a passionate young man, with a strong and unbreakable love for his family and friends and an amazing drive to excel in the wine industry in Hong Kong and surrounding countries.
Outside of his passion for the food and beverage industry, Patricio was the most sociable, loyal and charitable person his family and friends knew. Patricio dedicated himself to improving the lives of those around him - family, friends and even strangers, no request was too big. In his 44 years on this planet, he lived a multiple of lifetimes and up to the moment of his passing, he grinned, smiled and took the challenge ahead as only he would. His family and friends know exactly what we mean. He may have left this world too early, but made an everlasting mark.
Patricio leaves behind parents, brother, sister, the love of his life, Alice and their three beautiful children, Patito, Isabella and Celina (Bao Bao), who have become the perfect blend of what he and Alice stood for. A wine guy in every cell of his being.
"Through Love all that is bitter will be sweet,
Through Love all that is copper will be gold,
Through Love all dregs will become wine,
Through Love all pain will turn to medicine.”
Rumi
Tributes
Leave a tributeHappy half a century old brother.
Rock & Roll.
Birthday hugs
One year since your passing- you are sorely missed.
By means of this writing we, on behalf of all our members, the board of Gentlemen Fraternity La Pipe, would like to express our condolences on the passing of Patricio.
First and foremost, we would like to show our support to his family, and wish them all strength in processing this great loss. Moreover, we are thinking about all of his friends, and send our condolences to them as well. We are doing this on the basis of the strength that we have as a fraternity, one that has met each other at the Hotelschool The Hague and who showed to be like-minded not only during the studies but also kept close relations after.
Patricio came to The Hague and joined La Pipe in the first half of 1992. Before becoming a member, he stood out in a positive way, which led to us inviting him to become a candidate of our fraternity. Patricio was very involved and entertaining. He had good looks and a good sense of humor. He was a true “lady’s man” and had a great appreciation for beer.
During the years he acquired the nickname ‘Sifuentes’. It was a name based on the character of Victor Sifuentes from the then popular TV series ‘L.A. Law’. The fact that we already gave him a nickname based on a Hollywood star was an omen of his great international career.
After his studies, Patricio went abroad, which enabled us to meet with him sporadically. Whenever he was back in the Netherlands, he liked to join us to have a drink in ‘The Bar’ until late in the night. Our friendship was strong enough to maintain, even with the many kilometers distance. Nevertheless, we received the message of his passing away with great sadness. For a relatively young fraternity like La Pipe this is an exceptional event. We are not yet used to the passing away of members, especially not at this young age. To date, it has only occurred once before due to an accident.
With great sadness we have to say goodbye to Patricio. His loss cannot be replaced within our fraternity. The next time we will meet with the fraternity we will raise our glasses to the life he led in the Netherlands, and to have one last moment of thinking about his passing.
Immer de beschaving dienende groeten wij u onder de inmiddels onsterfelijk geworden gouden naam
La Pipe
Your overwhelming generosity & kindness have inspired so many to better themselves and to live life more fully. At once a loving husband, a caring son, an outstanding father to Patito, Meimei and Baobao, a successful entrepreneur, an admired boss… In your short time with us you have managed to achieve what many of us are still looking to do: to make a difference in this world through your endless energy & positivity.
You are in a better place now, may you rest in peace knowing that Alice & your kids will always be surrounded with love from everybody that loved you, and that your children will grow up in the legacy of compassion, greatness and rock ‘n’ roll that you left behind. Thanks for being a Legend. We will forever miss you, and we will raise a glass to you every time we drink Cristal!!!
wherever You might see it, I know the soil will be lighter for You.
I miss You.
The news, 18 months ago has hit me hard, but it wasnt about me.
It was the fact, that you were forever smiling, forever happy and jolly in our eyes. Pride has defined your moments since.
You were my life idol, honestly.
The World has lost one of its' great drivers, but heavens has just gained one.
God/Jahwe/Buddah/Allah: prepare yourselves for a ride we completed.
Not sure, if You have enough horses to hold this guy down.
Again, I will miss You, Pato.
Best of luck with Osiris. xxx
I was gutted that we had to miss last Saturday's memorial service as I'm on leave in Europe. We are enjoying our family holiday in a place that was close to your heart: Bergen, Noord Holland. You and I compared notes about the place several times and it was only fitting that we are drinking lots of good claret in honour of you, and your legacy.
Rust zacht, Gozerd!
Lodewijk & Wei Si'eu
We might not see in a short period, but I believe we will see each other again! you are the special person I had never met.... You always in my mind!!
Andrew
Ever since the first time we met at the French International School, all the time spent together has always been great, the memories shall be cherished forever. It was a pleasure to have you as a friend.
Rest in Peace Patrick.
My deepest condolences to Patrick's family.
To Alice and kids, Helen and Patricio, Ronald and co, Caroline and co and friends of the family...
Wish you much strength to let go, to accept and to remember and cherish the time you had with Pato. Hugs
- Jeremy and Wai Sim
From Jean Paul & family
Always with a smile & character, you will be missed. Rest in Peace.
We have known each other since early 2010. I called you on a whim for a business opportunity. You had your baby son babbling on your knees and you still made an instant decision. A loving family guy with impetus, this is how I will keep you in my heart. You gave more to the world in 44 years than most people in 80.
My most sincere condolences to your family and all my friends from the Links team.
I will raise a glass of wine on Saturday in your memory. I sense that you will like wine better than my tears.
Love,
Fred
My heart goes out to the family and those closest....
RIP Patricio XXX
Penny, Mark and the kids x
R.I.P., my friend. My deepest condolences to your family.
I wish you all strenght in these sad days
Babiche
Did we enjoy the wines you chose for us many years ago, when we just started buying from you! You sure had a good taste.
Great admiration we have for you, together with your family, trying to beat this nasty disease.
No more pain now. Rest in Peace, Patrick.
We wish your family lots of strength in the difficult times ahead.
Huib and Astrid
Leave a Tribute
Happy half a century old brother.
Rock & Roll.
Please be patient.
Living life to the full !
At the earlier stages of his illness Patricio had to follow a strict diet and that meant excluding anything with sugar. For a gourmet like him that certainly made eating less fun! One of the things he said he had a crazing for was satay sauce and that contains tons of sugar. And he missed chocolates....!
I set out to make Patricio a homemade satay sauce the traditional way: freshly roasted peanuts and spices grounded using a stone mortar & pestle, and instead of sugar substituted stevia, a sugar substitute made from a South American plant. Apparently it was a hit! And I had another surprise for Patricio - sugar free chocolate coated almonds from Sees Candies in Landmark. That was an even bigger hit - I think Patricio went looking for more immediately!
I am forever grateful I was able to make a tiny difference for Patricio at that time. Sadly I cannot see another box of Sees sugar-free almond these days without being overwhelmed by a sense of loss for our dear friend. RIP Patricio. Forever missed indeed.
Alway time for someone however small ...!
July 2010 Bordeaux, we were lucky enough to join Patricio and his merry team on a tour of some of the magnificent vinyards. Amongst the invited guests were a mainland chinese couple and their young son. And of course knowing the Links Concept team there was A LOT of drinking involved! One early morning from my bedroom window I was surprised to see a runner sprinting up from the valley towards the chateau - it was Patricio who was completing his morning run (AFTER a very inebriated night before)! But what was even more impressive was the fact Patricio knew that the little chinese boy would be like a fish out of water amongst the boisterous and loud grown-ups. He took time to swim with the boy in the chateau's pool because the boys' parents couldn't swim with him.
We shall forever miss you Patricio for your warmth, humour, passion, friendship and most of all boundless humanity.
Pistachio!!!
Around 23 years ago I came to the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong to create their New Years Eve Ball. This was my second time doing this event. As an artist/designer/painter I would cover whole ballrooms in my huge paintings for various themed gala events. During this time I lived in Houston Texas where I painted for all the big balls of Texas.
So here I come again for the second time to create a circus themed event. The first morning there we had a meeting and I was presented with an intern to be my assistant to help set up a painting studio and also act as a liaison between myself and the Grand Hyatt Corporation.
At this meeting someone says “here is your assistant” and I look up to see Patricio de la Fuente Saez. There stood a beyond handsome young guy with a huge beaming smile. He instantly charmed me with his quick wit and confident assurance that he was a super cool guy who would be there for me every step of the way. It was love at first sight! How could you not... From that moment on I would joke with him “what’s your name again?…Pistachio? And for the rest of the trip he would put up with me calling him that.
As I got to know Patrick I confessed that I was a gay guy and that I was 18 years older then him. This never stopped him from showing me such love and caring that went way beyond his duties as my 21 yr old assistant. I shared the fact that I was moving to New York soon after I returned to Houston and he was welcome to come and visit me there.
Not only would he help me all day…. but he would take us out at night to experience all that Hong Kong had to offer. I met his wonderful Parents and Ronaldo and Caroline and was extremely impressed how loving and caring this whole family was. After working together for a month we became the best of friends.
Once back in Texas I packed up my studio, shaved my head and headed for New York City. My friends had rented the whole top floor of a building that housed one of the most notorious night clubs in the world called SoundFactory. We divided up 14,000 sq ft into huge loft spaces. My friends were a mix of artists, fashion designers, photographers etc. A crazy electic bunch of misfits.
That summer of "95 Patrick made plans to visit NYC and this news could not have made me happier. During his visit we hit all the hottest clubs and went to all the weirdest themed restaurants we could find. We rollerbladed in Central Park and explored the city to the point of exhaustion. In our free time would visit my friends in all the various lofts on our floor and they too fell in love with this crazy delightful dutch/chilean boy from Hong Kong.
Later that year I was back in H"K" for a “Fantasia” themed event and again Patrick who was now part of the Grand Hyatt Team was my loyal assistant. Again, Pistachio was the best host ever. For a month we would work all day, ate almost every meal together, then at night go to parties and dance clubs, spent Christmas with his family, visited the big buddah, , we were deep in the throes of a good old fashioned bromance.
The next year Patrick had transferred to the Grand Hyatt in Jakarta Indonesia. He scheduled a trip for me there in the summer to sell myself as the premier event guy and we put together a deal which turned out to be one of the biggest projects I had ever pulled off. We again hung out all over Jakarta. It was a truly magical experience provided by my best buddy.
That year I painted for both Hong Kong and Indonesia’s New Year’s Eve events so I did the work in my studio in New York and shipped it to both countries. I then flew to Indonesia to get everything set and confer with Patrick. I then had to fly to Hong Kong for their event. Patrick made sure all my decor went up seamlessly as well as photo documenting everything. After the event in Hong Kong was over I immediately flew back to Indonesia to hang with my most fantastic friend. We went to clubs with members of the Australian mafia, visited the home of one of the then royal family, hung out by the pool….and again had one of the most memorable times of my life. I did not know it then…but this would be the last time I would see Patricio in person.
After years of working with the Hyatt and their brand of cut-throat management we parted ways.
Over time I would keep in touch with Patrick by email and phone calls. He and Ronaldo both would keep me informed of their great endeavors and I was proud and happy for both of them. Patrick told me of his love for Alice and sent me the link to see all the wedding photos. He told me about what a great joy his children brought him ….although they made his apartment messy.
I was always hoping somehow we would either meet up again in New York or Hong Kong….but it was never meant to be. The news of his illness was devastating. During this time Patrick and I talked a few times on Facebook and I could see how the illness was taking its tole. Thank you so much….Ron and Caroline for the updates….they helped more then you will ever know.
In my life I have never met anyone who was more a true and finer GENTLEMAN in every sense of the word….then Patricio Cristian de la Fuente Saez. His humor kindness and compassion are unsurpassed. His devotion to family and friends and unbridled joy of life made knowing him a gift that I will cherish forever. I could have written a whole book here about all the great wonderful fun moments in time we shared. It is through tons of smiling tears that I write this. I will miss you always my dear sweet friend and coolest dude ever...Pistachio. (i have posted many pics of our journey in the photo section)