Eidson Patrick 2016



Wow…it’s hard to believe it’s been nearly 50 years since graduating from ORHS.  I’m saddened to see that so many of us have passed on, and yet I’m still around and in good health after having so many brushes with death over the years.


I joined the USMC a few years after graduation and experienced combat with the First Marine Division in Vietnam. I moved to Houston, TX in ’71 and began my business career as a financial analyst with Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. and went on to manage their Central Florida Area Office in Orlando, Fl. I quickly tired of the corporate “rat race�, so I returned to Houston and entered the commercial real estate business as a self-employed broker. A peculiar chain of events led me to Manila, Philippines where I opened my own company and began selling investment properties in CA and TX to wealthy businessmen and government officials all over Southeast Asia and other parts of the world, so for 11 years I was living the “lifestyle of the rich and famous� until it all came crashing down in ’88.  I returned to the US, regrouped and headed to Taipei, Taiwan where I ran my real estate investment office for the next three years, then in ’92 decided to get off the rollercoaster ride and return to my roots in Oak Ridge/Knoxville.  


From ’97 to 2010 I switched gears and managed some of the larger funeral homes and cemeteries in the Knoxville area and then took an early retirement at age 62.  I moved to Thailand where I met and married my fourth wife and the one true love of my life, and I’ve been living the dream ever since.


As for words of wisdom….it’s easy to make money, but it’s harder to hold onto it, so learn early.  They never taught us that in ORHS.  Secondly, always remember that Murphy’s Law is alive and well, so be keenly aware that “if anything can go wrong…it will�.  Things never work out the way we expect them to because the forces of darkness are always at work to derail us from God’s purpose for our life, so always have a Plan B and a Plan C, and be ready to execute at all times. Life is too short to let any grass grow under your feet.


I won’t be able to make this year’s reunion for obvious reason, but I’ll be thinking of you guys while I’m sitting in my air-conditioned castle here in paradise watching the palm trees swaying through my front window with the queen of my dreams at my side. God’s speed and good health to all of you…and thanks for helping to shape my life! I was a shy and not so popular guy in high school, but that later motivated me to prove to the world that my life had tremendous value, and I’ve done exactly that! When I get to Heaven I’ll be anxious to hear the Lord Jesus say “well done my good and faithful servant�!
Posted By: NS Administrator - 04-30-2016
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