Patrick Larum

1963 - 2009

Patrick Larum, 46, passed away on Wednesday, May 13, 2009, at his home in Bozeman.

Pat was born in Bangkok, Thailand, on Jan 11, 1963, the youngest of three boys born to Kathleen and Norman R. Larum.

Shortly after his birth, the family moved back to the United States and lived at Camp Peary, Va., on the outskirts of Williamsburg. The family lived in Edenton, N.C., from 1965 to 1968 and then moved back to Camp Peary, Va., until 1971. After Pat's father retired from government service, the family moved to Missoula, Mont.

Pat attended Walsingham Academy in Williamsburg until second grade. In Missoula, he attended Cold Springs and Meadow Hills grade schools and then Sentinel High School, graduating in 1981. He earned a bachelor's degree in architecture in 1986 from Montana State University in Bozeman, Mont.

Among the companies Pat worked for over the years were Eric Hefty and Associates and Paradigm V2 Architects. In the late 1990s, Pat moved to Bozeman and worked for Comma Q Architecture, a firm specializing in historic renovations and quality residential design, where he remained until his untimely death.

Pat, a member of the American Institute of Architects, began investigating the possibilities of the World Wide Web in 1996 as a result of his architectural firm's goal to innovate with new media. His architectural Web sites have been featured as "sites of the day" by Project Cool, Netscape, Yahoo and USA Today.

Pat was an excellent and innovative architect, proud of his architectural accomplishments. He was excited about his work on the Bozeman High School renovation, on which he'd been working for the past two years.

His main passion in life outside of architecture was cycling. Initially, he was quiet and reserved when meeting people, but once you got to know him had a sharp, dry wit. He had a kind heart and would go out of his way to show people that he cared.

He will be greatly missed. He had a huge heart. It just gave out too soon.

He was preceded in death by both of his parents. He is survived by two brothers, Mike of Helena and Tim of Missoula; a niece, Erica Mercill, and her husband, Forest, of Seattle, Wash.; a nephew, Blake Larum of San Jose, Calif.; his fiancée, Erin McCready of Bozeman; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins, and friends.

There will be a memorial service at the chapel of Dokken-Nelson Funeral Home in Bozeman on Tuesday, May 19, at 2 p.m. A celebration of his life will follow at Comma Q's office. Pat's ashes will be spread at the family property on Rock Creek on Saturday, May 23, at 2 p.m. in an informal ceremony. All friends and family are welcome to attend. Memorials may be made in Pat's memory to the American Heart Association.

Arrangements are in the care of Dokken-Nelson Funeral Service.