07/31/2025
Patrick’s “Men’s Breakfast” at High School and the Never-Absent Father Called John Wayne
At Loyola High School, once a year, male students are invited to a special event called “Men’s Breakfast” – a simple morning where the boys have breakfast with their fathers or a significant man in their lives.
Patrick Wayne, John Wayne’s son, said that at that time he did not live with his father and John Wayne was in the middle of his work. He may have been absent from Hollywood, absent from television, but he was never absent from his son’s life.
That day, young Patrick walked into the hall, where more than a hundred of his friends were present with their fathers – well-dressed men, talking softly. Patrick looked around nervously, not seeing any familiar figures.
And then, the door opened.
All eyes in the room turned to the tall man in the cowboy hat and dusty coat – John Wayne appeared, just as he always did from the big screen.
The room fell silent. Someone whispered: “It’s The Duke…”
Patrick stood up, his face red – not from embarrassment, but from a choking pride.
John Wayne didn’t say much. He just smiled, put his hand on his son’s shoulder and asked:
“Are these pancakes okay, son?”
It was just a short morning. Just a simple meal.
But for Patrick, it was a moment that would last forever.
He once shared about this memory: “I was especially emotional when I sat next to my dad, I felt he was a little proud of me – but not half as proud as I was to be his son.”
And among hundreds of schedules and hundreds of roles, that man - the father named John Wayne - still chose to be there, right when his son needed him the most.