Patrick Hemingway, the last surviving child of Ernest Hemingway and steward of his father’s posthumous works, has died.
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Hemingway, the second of the author’s three sons, passed away at his home in Bozeman, Montana on Tuesday. The news was confirmed in a statement by his grandson, Patrick Hemingway Adams.
“My grandfather was the real thing: a larger-than-life paradox from the old world; a consummate dreamer saddled with a scientific brain. He spoke half a dozen languages and solved complicated mathematical problems for fun, but his heart truly belonged to the written and visual arts,” Adams said, per The New York Times.
He was 97.
In Contrast to His Brother, Gregory, Patrick Hemingway Had a Close Bond with His Famous Father
Gregory Hemingway had a difficult relationship with his literary legend parent, while Patrick Hemingway embraced his family name and supported projects he believed could succeed or gain attention.
The 2022 book Dear Papa: The Letters of Patrick and Ernest Hemingway reveals stories of hunting, fishing, and mutual affection between father and son. According to the AP, the book shows that Ernest writes to Patrick, “I would rather fish with you and shoot with you than anybody that I have ever known since I was a boy, and this is not because we are related.”
As executor of his father’s estate, he approved reissues of classics like A Farewell to Arms and A Moveable Feast with revised texts and added commentary. The estate also ventured into products such as clothing, eyewear, rugs, and “Papa’s Pilar Rum,” which unsettled some fans.
Patrick’s biggest project was editing True at First Light, a fictionalized account of Ernest Hemingway’s time in 1950s Africa. Left unfinished at Hemingway’s death, Patrick cut it from 800 pages to less than half for its 1999 release. Though highly anticipated, the book disappointed readers and critics, with some accusing Patrick of exploiting the family name.
Ernest Hemingway’s family was plagued by mental illness and suicide. His father, Clarence, died by suicide in 1928, and Hemingway himself did the same in 1961. Gregory Hemingway struggled with alcoholism and depression, dying in 2001 after an arrest. Margaux Hemingway, his half-niece, overdosed in 1996.
Patrick Hemingway Worked as a Hunter, Safari Guide, Educator, and Forestry Officer for the UN
Patrick Hemingway, son of Ernest Hemingway and Pauline Pfeiffer, was born in Kansas City, Missouri. Growing up, the family moved frequently, living in places like Cuba, Spain, Wyoming, and Key West, Florida, before Ernest and Pauline divorced in 1940. Patrick later recalled his father’s many safari trophies, including a wildebeest mounted in his and his brother Gregory’s bedroom.
East Africa was Patrick’s dream destination. After graduating from Harvard, he used his inheritance to buy a farm in Tanganyika (now Tanzania) and worked as a hunter, safari guide, educator, and forestry officer for the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization..
Patrick Hemingway was married to Henrietta Broyles and later to Carol Thompson. He had one daughter, Mina Hemingway, with his first wife. From the mid-1970s until his death, he lived in Bozeman. Ernest Hemingway spent his final years in Idaho.
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