Patrick Canavan died of brain cancer on February 21, just two days before his sixty-second birthday. Canavan was the longtime pro at the New York Athletic Club.

Pat Canavan grew up in Philadelphia. In the class of 1976 at Roxborough High School, he co-captained their soccer team to the Public League title and played No.1 on their tennis team for three years; Canavan was inducted into their athletic hall of fame in 2017. He first learned squash at the University of Pennsylvania. He was a part of teams that had a combined record of 24-8, including the 1978-79 squad that went 8-1 and finished second in the Ivy League. He was co-captain of the Penn team his senior year.

On the pro hardball tour he reached No. 33. He worked as a teaching pro for the rest of his career in Manhattan, including eleven years at Lincoln Squash, eighteen months at First Avenue Squash and then twenty-five years at NYAC. He made NYAC a welcoming place for members, guests, longtime visiting pros and hosted tournaments such as the Big Apple Open pro doubles event, early rounds of the Tournament of Champions and the Hyder Cup.

Read an obituary courtesy of Koller Funeral Home here.