Patrick C. Mehegan, 79, of Valparaiso passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his family on Wednesday, March 5, 2025. He was born May 9, 1945, in Chicago to Patrick J. & Florence (Mascio) Mehegan. Patrick made his career as a sales representative for crane rigging materials for over 40 years, finishing with John Sakash Company’s Hammond office. Coaching his daughters’ girls softball teams in Lansing, Illinois continued to provide treasured memories even today. He also enjoyed ballroom dancing, ocean cruises and trips to Sedona, Arizona with his wife and grandkids. But it was model railroading that garnered his passion. He was a lifetime member of Lakeshore Model Railroad Association and had a gift for teaching this craft to beginning and seasoned model railroaders. The strong and lasting relationships he built within this community due to his nurturing style brought many lifelong friends to his bedside in recent days.
On November 5, 1966, he married Joyce D. Simkus who preceded him in death on October 9, 2024. Survivors include their daughters: Diane J. (Robert “Scott”) Cummings of Valparaiso & Christine Mehegan, brother, Thomas (Rita) Mehegan, grandchildren: Jacob, Luke (Elli), Noah, and Douglas, great-grandson, Torben Patrick, and his loyal Rottweiler companion, “Jojo”. He was also preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Larry Mehegan.
A visitation will be held Tuesday, March 11th from 2-6 pm at Moeller Funeral Home, Valparaiso with funeral service beginning at 6:00 pm and cremation to follow. Memorial donations may be made to the Porter County Special Olympics.
GUESTBOOK
I am very sorry for your loss. Your dad was always sweet and funny! God bless him and your mom. They are together again. Rest in peace. -Caralee Mehegan
My condolences to the Mehegan family. I met Pat at Fotorama / Dons Hobby World in the early 70s. He taught me a lot about model trains as I grew. Spent a lot of time chewing the fat about modeling and drinking coffee at the local hobby shops. A lot of discussion of building Hobbytown drives. He was involved in my planning and installing model train displays at Park Lane Hobbies. Two of them were Tyler’s Tender and Flossmoor Station installations. We sure had fun with 1A. 1B, 1C+ triangle. LOL Thank you Pat 1A for your friendship. God Bless You, -Joe 1C# Skrabutenas Park Lane Hobbies
The joy and talent this man brought to the HO train hobby world is 2nd to none. He will be greatly missed and never forgotten. Rest peacefully my friend! -Mark Rubacha
Pat was a very good freind. I miss him. We would meet up at the Commander in Munster. Eat and discuss our cruises and enjoy talking about everything. He would stop over to my house and eat dinner before going to his railroad meetings. When we moved to Las Vegas we sort of lose contact but we would take on the phone. Pat was a great friend and I will miss him. -Leon Ruzycki
Condolences Diane on the loss of your Father. I will always have memories thru our teens. -Virginia Przybocki
To Pats entire family our deepest sympathy. He was a great conversationalist. Either asking about our racing or teaching us about trains. May he rest in peace. -Cliff, Jolynn, and Derek Michaelsen
