John Cavanaugh

I knew both John Cavanaugh and Pat Gladchild Cavanaugh individually and independently since the early 1970's. In both cases the connection was through folk dance of one sort or another, and each of them contributed much to my happiness in life over the decades of our friendships. At this time, after recently losing both of them, it has been difficult to get Pat and John out of my mind, but also really hard to articulate my emotions and recollections in any coherent way. Over the years I witnessed both John and Pat go through several relationships with others before they finally got together in what seemed like a really solid marriage. Fortunately that lasted a long-ish time, unfortunately not long enough. They were definitely a unit; but, for me, I mostly think of them separately. I first met Pat Gladchild when she was at the University of Minnesota. She had a different last name then (she has had several over the years), later creating Gladchild out of "Gladys's child" to honor her mother. Pat discovered folk dancing, we met, and I considered her a close friend ever since. For five years I taught dance classes at the University of Minnesota, and Pat was a student of mine. She was a great student. She got involved with recreational folk dancing, and was not only a dancer but became a good teacher as well. She took on leadership roles, too. Her interests were diverse, and she performed with at least two groups that I recall, including dancing at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. We shared many hours dancing in the same groups. My friendship with Pat went well beyond the dance world. We helped each other navigate a wide variety of life events. Over the years we would periodically get together over a meal or go for a long walk, and we would talk for hours. I hope I helped her; I know she helped me to process a lot of things. I am unbelievably sad that our talks have ended. John was one of the earliest members of my Morris dance team, the Minnesota Traditional Morris. He was one of the first Squires (like presidents) of the team and, he helped to make the team what it is today. John also contributed significantly to several other Morris dance groups, both within and beyond Minnesota. In addition, John founded and for many years taught an English Clog Dance class that grew into a step dance performing group that still exists in the Twin Cities. His class was my first opportunity to taste the frustrations of attempting that genre of dance on an on-going basis. But John could do it well! John was also a singer with a large repertoire of songs that were great to sing in a group, at a pub after dancing, or around a campfire. I loved to sing the songs he led. John expanded my dance experiences and enhanced my enjoyment of life over many years, and I am grateful to him for that. During Pat and John's marriage they took up ballroom dancing, and their mutual love of dance found a "together place." From my perspective their lives together seemed to be heading in the right direction until John's medical problems became overwhelming. The past several years were very rough, for them and for me. I watched from afar as John went from one medical problem to the next. Pat played the Florence Nightingale; I was in awe. Then it got worse: Covid-19 came on the scene. As far as I could see, Pat was completely devoted to taking care of John and keeping him safe from the pandemic. She set an example that I believe I could never come close to matching. After John's passing, Pat never really had the time to heal emotionally before she, herself was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. It was shocking to me. Her sudden death was even more shocking to me. I think about Pat and John every day. I am sad. Every day I am sad. It grieves me that I will be out of town at the time of their memorial event on July 17th, 2022. I wish I could be there. These people meant a lot to me, and they were an important part of my life. --Ed Stern [Note: I am posting this to both John's MyKeeper page and Pat's MyKeeper page.]