The sun shined bright as community members and elected officials gathered at St. Paul’s Baptist Church to say their final goodbyes to Patrick Johnson, a man who many called the “pillar of his community.”

“[He was] very versatile, very even-tempered,” Freddie Hamilton, executive director of Rebuilding the Village Inc., said. “I don’t think I ever saw him get angry about anything. [He was] a real leader, really caring about the community, caring about the young people.”

"His methods were cavalier,” Roosevelt Patterson, program coordinator for Rebuilding the Village Inc., said. “He was a patient man. He was not judgmental. Anyone with a situation he would you know try his best to help.”

“He was an individual that always had a warm hand reaching out to make something better,” Utica Mayor Robert Palmieri said. 

Twenty years ago, Johnson started Hoops and Dreams. His vision was to bring people together through the game of basketball.

“Hoops and Dreams is a basketball tournament of youth from elementary school to high school, forming teams, playing against one another,” Patterson said. “Food, music, fun, you know everything you can ask for, it was there.” 

The event not only brought people together, but it helped reduce the violence by replacing guns with basketballs.

“It was very effective in the community,” Patterson

Johnson also spearheaded the Save Our Streets program. Members of the program assisted the community to relay anti-violence messages and provide youth with opportunities away from gang violence.

“I could say so much about Mr. Johnson,” Patterson said.

“He never said no to people,” Hamilton said. “His idea of leadership was to just do what people needed him to do [and] what people asked him to do.”  

Johnson and Hamilton were the co-founders of Rebuilding the Village. The incorporation works with ethnic families, at-risk children, working toward racial justice and improving the quality of life for members in the community. As a result, they were able to build a community center. This February it will be a year old.

“Mr. Johnson will be greatly missed inside this community,” Patterson said. “He had an impact on everyone’s life, young and old, Black and white.”  

“My wish is that his legacy continues,” Palmieri said.

“I don’t know how we’re going to easily go forward,” Hamilton said. “We’re all committed, we intend to keep doing his work. But it’s going to be very difficult. We’re going to miss him a great deal.” 

Although Johnson can never be duplicated, his work and passion for others will live on.