Patricia Flynn Cheroutes (Trisha Flynn)

The world became a lot less interesting with the passing of Patricia Flynn Cheroutes on Monday, July 1, 2024. Trisha died as she lived, surrounded by family, and is survived by her husband, Michael L Cheroutes Sr., three children, Michael Jr (Margo), Francesca and Matthew (Lindsey), seven grandchildren, Leah, Mark, Sam, Henry, Emmaline, Michael III, and Ripley, and thousands of others whose lives she touched in her 82 years. Trisha was a loving wife and mother, a devoted daughter and sister, a fearless writer, a loyal friend, and an inspiration to all. She was Irish, and don’t you forget it. She was not a cook.

The eldest of six siblings, Trisha was born to Matthew and Gertrude Flynn in Kansas City, MO on December 4, 1941. She spent most of her youth in the South, where she picked up many of the traits that came to define her: She was unfailingly polite, always hospitable, and above all, gracious. Family, whether by blood or by bond, was the foundation of her identity and the source of her strength; and she was fiercely protective of all who came within her orbit. She was the cool aunt, a second mother to many, and her house(s) collected strays of both the four and two legged variety. Educated in Catholic schools, Trisha’s faith was important to her, but it was never a blind faith, and was never limiting: She questioned everything while keeping an open mind, and drew wisdom from all sources.

It took some time for Trisha to find her true calling, and it was while working in Boston as a flight attendant for Eastern Airlines that she met the man who would become her husband and life partner of over 60 years. Other jobs followed reflecting her love for people – she worked in human resources and trained to become a nurse – and when opportunity knocked for her to write, she kicked the door down with her ever-present high heels. Trisha’s first job as columnist was with the Denver Business Journal, and she moved on from there to write for both of Denver’s major newspapers, The Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News. She wrote under her maiden name of Trisha Flynn, and from her perspective as a wife and a mother, and found the time after putting the kids to bed. She researched and wrote about the issues and causes that were important to her, on topics ranging from animal rights and the environment to nuclear proliferation, but the issues that were the closest to her heart were those impacting women: Abortion rights, contraceptive rights, pay equity, domestic violence, and equal access to education and health care. Her voice struck a chord with many who felt someone was finally speaking for them, and a nerve with others who thought she should return to the kitchen (the joke was on them, of course, because the kitchen was where her columns were conceived).

Trisha was beautiful and funny and razor-sharp, and even at 82 she left us too soon. But she didn’t quite leave us without instructions on how she would like to be remembered. In a column entitled “Now’s the Time: Planning Your Own Funeral” she wrote:

“As for funerals, they can be, and should be, personal. A funeral makes us take the time to remember the dead, reconnect with the living, to think ahead: How much time do I have left – how am I going to spend it – when my time comes, how would I want it? How many choruses of ‘When Irish Eyes Are Smiling’ could my husband take? Is a Greek man obligated to pay for a three-day long Irish wake? Do children know it’s OK to laugh as well as cry at a funeral – do they know that death is natural, inevitable, that it’s part of life?”

Please take a moment to remember and celebrate the life of Patricia Flynn Cheroutes.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Trisha's name to Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains:

Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains