Patrick Nerad, 63

Patrick H. (Harris) Nerad, age 63, passed away in his North Carolina home on June 15, 2015.  Born on March 17, 1952, in Bryan, Ohio, the 4th child of Elmer C. and Mabel G. Nerad, Patrick was a 1970 graduate of Bryan High School.  Owner and Director of Patrick H. Nerad Fine Arts design studio and gallery, Fort Wayne, Indiana from 1984 to 1991, Patrick was a National and International award-winning painter, printmaker, furniture designer; cabinet maker; and photographer; his works have been acquired by both private and public collections.  He was a founding member of “The Dock Street Artist’s Studios;” taught Saturday art classes for children; and served as Assistant Curator, Preparator, and Technical Assistant with the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, Indiana, from 1981-1987.  Patrick also served as Program Coordinator, Boys and Girls Club of Fort Wayne in 1996.

Patrick earned a Fine Arts degree from Indiana University-Purdue University, Fort Wayne, Indiana, 1977, on full scholarship; and his Bachelor of Science in Education from Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, 1993.  He completed graduate level studies at Indiana Wesleyan University, Fort Wayne, Indiana, 2006.  Awarded an International Studies Grant, Patrick served his student teaching at Our Lady of Mercy American School in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil in 1993.  Following this, Patrick taught Fine Art to elementary, middle, and high school students at B.F. Terry High School, Rosenberg, Texas; Memorial Park Middle School, Fort Wayne, Indiana; R. Nelson Snider High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana (Department Chair); Fairfax Elementary, Fairfax, South Carolina; and Plymouth High School, Plymouth, North Carolina from 1994 until 2012.

A former student of Patrick’s once wrote: “I have not met many teachers like you. You appreciate all sorts of art no matter how weird it may be.  You would tell the good points of a peace [sic] of art and you would tell me how to make it better….You helped me by showing me to choose the music/art that I liked and don’t let anyone tell me otherwise.  You taught me not to listen to other peoples [sic] opinions about what kind of art I should like…and you respected my art. Not all of it was as good as I could have made it but it was art….You pointed me in the right direction in the lines of school work and what classes to take. You also humored me in class so that I didn’t get bored and you let the class listen to music. You even let the one table (you know which table I am talking about) listen to their style of music even though not many other kids liked it. That was fair. You are a very fair teacher. There should be more people like you in the world. And they all should be teachers.”

Patrick is survived by his brother, Theodore J., “Ted,” Nerad of Bryan, and his sister, Christine M., “Tina,” Nerad of Van Wert, Ohio; nephews, Paul Nerad of Defiance, Ohio; David Nerad of Franklin, Indiana; and R. Chris Homan of Wauseon, Ohio; niece, Susan (Don) Mosko of Nancy, Kentucky.  He was preceded in death by his father, Elmer C. Nerad; mother, Mabel G. Nerad (Kennedy); and brother, Thomas C., “Tom,” Nerad.

Visitation for Patrick will be held from 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 15, 2015 at Oberlin-Turnbull Funeral Home, 206 North Lynn Street, Bryan.

Those planning an expression of sympathy are asked to consider memorial contributions be made to Honor Flight