Patrick Byrne ’23 died Feb. 22 at age 19 after a battle with cancer.

Known to his friends and family as Pat, Byrne attended Springfield High School in Springfield, Pennsylvania. At St. Joe’s, Byrne was working towards a degree in computer science. 

Victoria Picozzi ’23, Byrne’s girlfriend at the time of his death, wrote in response to written questions from The Hawk that throughout his battle with cancer, Byrne always “fought with grace.”

“The one thing that Pat always was, even during the toughest times during his battle with cancer, was that he was very strong,” Picozzi said. 

Louis Kontaras ’23, a friend of Byrne, said even through the hardships Byrne faced in his life, he always kept a positive attitude.

“He was a really tough kid,” Kontaras said. “Even when he was going through chemotherapy, he always used to smile and talk to me, cracking jokes.” 

Picozzi said Bryne could always make people smile when he entered a room.

“Pat was just a genuinely nice person,” Picozzi said. “There is not one bad thing anyone could say about Pat. He was kind, caring, loving, funny, intelligent and compassionate.”

Laura Pattillo, Ph.D., assistant professor of English, was Byrne’s English professor during his first year at St. Joe’s. She wrote in response to written questions from The Hawk that her “heart sank” when she heard of Byrne’s passing.

“He was just beginning his life as a young adult when I taught him, and it is terrible that it was cut so short,” Pattillo said. “His death is a sad and untimely loss to our campus community, to his family and to the world.”

Byrne is survived by his grandmother, Gertrude Byrne. A funeral Mass was held on Feb. 27. Byrne was buried in SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery in Springfield, next to his grandfather, Patrick J. Byrne, Sr.