Patrick Ian Preliou

Patrick Ian Preliou was born on August 10, 1976 in Gainesville, Florida to Johnell and Ilona (James) Preliou.  As a baby, he lived with his parents in the warm married housing community at the University of Florida.  There he was raised with love by his parents and their community of fellow students and friends.

Upon graduation, the family ultimately moved to Fernandina Beach, Florida.  In Fernandina, Patrick gained a community in Marsh Cove as a toddler, and the Amelia Island Montessori School as a pre-schooler.  At Montessori, Patrick met a few of his lifetime friends.  In the following years, he gained more valuable friendships while attending Southside Elementary, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Day School, St. Patrick Catholic School, Calhoun School, and Bishop Kenny High School.

Throughout his formative years he enjoyed playing with friends in his tree house, bike riding, skateboarding, boogie boarding, playing football, and participating in ROTC.  Also, Patrick enjoyed attending boy scout meetings, youth meetings at St. Peters Episcopal Church (EYC), and summer camp and weekends at Camp Weed in Live Oak, Florida.

During the latter part of his teenage years, he worked during the summers as a life guard at the Elm Street Recreation Center and also at Kmart.  After great diligence, he obtained his GED at the Florida State College (formerly the Florida Community College at Jacksonville) before expanding his community while attending Johnson and Wales University in Charleston, South Carolina.  Shortly thereafter, he began his work as a music producer and manager.  At times as a teenager and an adult, Patrick worked as a waiter in various restaurants.

On June 2, 2000 in Salisbury, North Carolina, Patrick married Stacy Renee Brown (whom he had met as a child and fell in love with during his teenage years).  The following year they welcomed their first child, Shemayah Zipporah, into their lives.  Upon Stacy’s acceptance to the University of South Florida (USF), the family of three moved to Tampa.  In 2002 they welcomed Malachi Jermyah, becoming a family of four.

While Stacy was attending USF, Patrick and his family moved from the married housing community into their Tampa home. Patrick became certified in the mechanics of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) at Erwin Technical College.  In 2004, the family welcomed Eliyah Yadon, the fifth family member.  Seeking better family opportunities in 2006, the family moved to Katy, Texas.  When the housing market crashed, Stacy and the children returned to Fernandina Beach as Patrick briefly worked in Tampa before rejoining his family and establishing their home.

Patrick was a loving husband and father who proudly spent most of his life working hard to provide his family with all that he had.  He shared his gift as a cook while serving on the men’s breakfast team at St. Peter’s. He recently started his HVAC company, Chosenair HVAC, as an inroad to becoming an HVAC contractor.  He is survived by his wife, Stacy Brown-Preliou, his daughter, Shemayah Zipporah, and his sons, Malachi Jeremyah and Eliyah Yadon. Also, he is survived by his parents, Johnell and Ilona Preliou, Sylvia Brown, and Kevin Brown, Sr. (Corliss), his siblings, Jacqueline “Angie” Preliou-Holland (Scott), Tifini Preliou Williams (Terrell), Karen “Tash” Brown (Trezsmon Green), and Kevin Brown, Jr.  He has an abundance of aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, friends, acquaintances and loved-ones who fondly remember him for all of the love and joy that he provided.  Patrick was fun-loving, caring and loved to bring comic relief to those around him.  He was a friend to many in every community in which his life took him.  He strove to make the best of life in every possible situation.