PATRICK WHELAN

Patrick J. Whelan  
Patrick J. Whelan, formerly of the Brookland neighborhood of Washington, DC, passed away, November 14, 2021, in Safety Harbor, FL. He was 84 years old. He was the son of the late Thomas J. Whelan, Sr., a 1932 honorable mention All-American football player at Catholic University, Washington, DC, and Harriet Dye Whelan, a longtime personal secretary of the late Senator George Smathers of Florida. Patrick attended Taft Junior High School and graduated from McKinley Tech in 1955. He played on the Public High School All Star Team that defeated St. John College High School for the City Championship in 1954. From there, he attended Bullis Prep for one year and then enrolled at Syracuse University where he was a member of the 1959 National Championship Football Team. As an Army ROTC member, Patrick graduated from Syracuse and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant. He served two years as an artillery instructor at Fort Sill, OK. From there, he was employed as a United States Secret Service Agent. His most memorable experiences were being assigned to the Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy detail immediately after the President's assassination and serving on the first Vice Presidential detail in US history. Upon leaving the USSS, Patrick set out to enter the business world. His first endeavor was to set up a rental business in Clinton, Maryland serving as President of Whelan Equipment and Action Concrete. Later he managed a location for Masters Consolidated and then became the manager of the Chicago office, and later, the Richmond office of the Safway Steel Scaffolding Company. Patrick retired to Safety Harbor, Florida where he enjoyed sailing and socializing with many friends of the Safety Harbor Boat Club.  His wife was the late Shirley Grimes Whelan. He is survived by his daughter Patricia Downey (Brendan) of Parker, CO; and his brother Thomas and sister-in-law, Kay Whelan of Crofton, Maryland; and loving nieces and nephews. A memorial service and celebration of life will take place at the Gates of Heaven Cemetery in Silver Spring, Maryland on December 28, 2021 at 2 p.m.