In a moving and respectful tribute, Belleville city councillors said goodbye to one of their own Monday night.

Mayor Mitch Panciuk led a poignant farewell to Coun. Patricia Culhane who passed away suddenly at Belleville General Hospital Sunday night surrounded by her friends and family.

Culhane, who served on council from 2006 to 2014 when she ran for mayor, successfully returned to council in 2018. She had spent 50 years working at BGH as a pediatric and emergency nurse before moving into an administrator role.

Panciuk said the city is better for Culhane and her service to the community.

“She is well-liked and well-loved,” he said. “Sometimes controversial but she wore it on her sleeve.

“We tried to give her a send-off worthy of someone who has given so much to our city. Today is about remembering one of our great citizens who has done much for our community.”

In tribute to Culhane, a city flag was draped over her chair – a symbol for her love of being part of council and being able to help people, Panciuk said.

“She loved being a Belleville city councillor,” Panciuk said. “She really enjoyed the opportunity to use her voice and to attend events and to work in the city she loved so much.”

As well there was an 8x10 framed picture of Culhane in her council seat from when she was sworn in at the start of this term; draped over the picture was a rosary recognizing her Roman Catholic faith.

Also on the desk was her council water bottle and a very large coffee mug – in recognition of the significant amount of coffee Culhane consumed at meetings.

“She had this huge coffee mug that I was always astounded she would fill up and consume before meetings,” Panciuk said.

Finally, there was a large vase of flowers and as part of the tribute one at a time each councillor placed a red rose on Culhane’s desk; most took a moment or two to either touch the frame or the picture or just pause silently at the display.

“Obviously today was a meeting and we had to conduct business, but we recognized someone was missing from one of the spaces,” Panciuk said.  

“We as a council wanted to give her a proper send-off … and we are expecting at the next meeting we will be able to do a proper send-off.

“This week was not about conducting the business of the city, this week was about sharing in the grief the family and the community is sharing.”

Out of respect for Culhane, council canceled all delegations for the meeting and agreed to waive the rules of council in order to pass all resolutions on the agenda in one vote with no debate.

Council also passed a small number of bylaws with no discussion.

Coun. Kelly McCaw said she and the community will both miss Culhane very much. The only two women on council this term had developed a close relationship in a short time built on mutual interests and respect.

“She was the kindest soul I’ve met, but the toughest lady I’ve known,” an emotional McCaw said after the meeting. “I have learned a lot from that lady and I think the community is going to have a huge loss.”

McCaw noted that while she only knew Culhane for six years, the two bonded and struck up a strong friendship based on many factors, including their own passions and beliefs regarding the city.

They also shared a love for animals and a commitment to the Quinte Human Society where they both served on the board of directors.

“We both had the fighting spirit,” he said. “We always wanted things to be right, to make things right, to make sure everybody was represented despite their circumstances.

“We hit it off from the start.”

Panciuk noted he and Culhane did not hit it off early on in their relationship, but rather grew to see eye to eye on at least some things.

“It took a long time for her get over what she saw as cheeky decision on my part to run for mayor in 2010,” he said. “But to her credit, we both put our differences aside and worked together.

“You always had to convince Pat. Pat was someone who needed to understand what you wanted and why it was good and she would test you. If you passed that test then you would get her support and if you didn’t, you wouldn’t.”

The mayor noted that Culhane also “didn’t suffer fools well,” and that she used as a big part of her decision-making the barometer of integrity.

“The very great skill Pat had was cutting to the chase on everything,” Panciuk said. “Sometimes as politicians, we talk around things, we beat around the bush. Pat would just drill right to the issue at heart and find out what you really were made of.

“She was really having a thrill this term because she really felt she could have done better in her previous terms and she was set to make amends for that this term. And she was. She really flourished and was outspoken but that is exactly why we wanted her.”

Panciuk said council will declare Culhane's seat vacant at its Nov. 23 council meeting and begin the process of determining how the seat will be filled at its December meeting.

He noted Culhane’s family is still working through funeral arrangements and the city was prepared to work with the family in whatever way in could to help.

As well a condolence book is available in the City Hall front foyer for people to pay their respects. It will be there until Monday.