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Letter to the editor

Cultural Center backer Patrick Brophy dies

He and his wife, Norine, were key fundraisers.

By RITA FARLOW, Times Staff Writer
Published December 22, 2007

LARGO - Long before the first brick was laid at the Largo Cultural Center, Patrick J. Brophy envisioned a downtown performing arts theater.

Longtime arts supporters, Mr. Brophy and his wife, Norine, were members of the first board of Partners N Progress, the fundraising arm of the Largo Cultural Center.

Mr. Brophy died of cancer Dec. 10 at Hospice House Woodside in Pinellas Park. He was 83.

Before moving to Florida, the couple lived in Grosse Pointe, Mich., where they were supporters of the Grosse Point Children's Theater and the Detroit Symphony. While living in Fairfield, Conn., they made monthly trips into New York City to attend the theater and supported the Museum of Modern Art.

"We had always been great theatergoers up North. We thought it was extremely important to develop that here," Mrs. Brophy said this week.

Partners N Progress raised nearly $600,000 to help fund the $3.7-million Cultural Center, which opened in 1996. The venue hosts a Broadway series and children's productions, and is home to Eight O'Clock Theatre, the center's resident theater company. Plaques in the lobby of the center recognize the Brophys for their support.

In the early 1980s, the Brophys and other Largo leaders formed a core group that canvassed the community to garner support for both Largo Central Park and the Cultural Center.

"They were very, very good at what they did, and people appreciated them," said Dotti Cavallaro Chambers, who met the Brophys while working to promote the community center. "They would go and talk to civic groups and clubs and (retirement facilities), and they would go and tell them what all the advantages would be. They went everywhere."

Mr. Brophy always had a smile on his face and was quick to offer a hug or a handshake, Cavallaro Chambers said.

"He was so pleasant. ... They were like the ideal couple. They did everything together and they were always holding hands," she said.

Born March 19, 1924, in Oakland, Calif., Mr. Brophy was a 1950 graduate of Holy Cross College in Worcester, Mass., where he was in the NROTC. He worked in public relations for the Oldsmobile division of GM, Eaton Corp. and Abitibi-Price Inc.

Married June 24, 1950, the Brophys came to Florida 28 years ago. They lived in Palm Harbor before moving to Largo in 1986 and Clearwater in 1996.

The couple volunteered at The Palms of Largo and the community center before they took up the cause for the park and the Cultural Center.

Mrs. Brophy, 79, said her husband was "not just a gentleman, but a gentle man."

Julaine Brent said her father was proud of his Irish heritage and was known to sing Irish lullabies and college fight songs.

"His grandchildren could sing 'H-A-DOUBLE R-I-G-A-N spells Harrigan' long before they could say the alphabet," she said.

A memorial Mass is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Jan. 2 at Espiritu Santo Catholic Church, 2405 Philippe Parkway, Safety Harbor. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Hospice of the Florida Suncoast.

Additional survivors include his sister Julaine Brophy Tillmann of London, Ontario; daughters, Julaine Brent and her husband, Peter, of Toronto, and Moira Woods and her husband, Clay, of Grosse Pointe; a son, Sean Patrick Brophy and his wife Carol, of West Lafayette, Ind.; nine grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.

[Last modified December 21, 2007, 22:57:23]