He’s always in the driver’s seat

Andrew Edwards

Retirement was too boring for Newport Beach’s Patrick Munn, so the

82-year-old Newport Beach resident spends his time helping those

unable to stay active.

“I’m edgy,” Munn said. “I gotta keep working.”

Every weekday except Tuesday -- that’s his bridge day -- Munn

fires up his wine-colored Chrysler Concorde and hits the roads that

crisscross Newport-Mesa.

A volunteer driver with the Friends In Service to Humanity Harbor

Area Mobile Meals Program, Munn loads his car with hot meals to

deliver to the homebound.

Munn said he and his co-volunteers help “really nice people who

can’t, by themselves, either go to the grocery store or don’t have

any relatives, or their relatives don’t live around here, or their

relatives don’t care, because it’s easier to ignore somebody than to

bother.”

For those who receive food packages, the drivers’ visits are

precious opportunities to interact with others.

“We have people who dress up and put their makeup on, just for the

drivers,” program director Jennifer Lee said.

Mobile Meals drivers pick up their packages in the mornings at

Hoag Hospital.

The volunteers fill them with hot meals and add milk, juice and

fruit. Program clients are able to request foods they enjoy.

Munn started working for the Mobile Meals Program around August,

taking a somewhat ironic road to FISH Harbor.

The volunteer driver was looking for a group to fulfill his

community service responsibilities after he was caught running a red

light.

Munn, who likes to keep moving, retired twice.

After spending 45 years as a recreational developer, he took on a

job at a homeowners association that was slated to last about four

months and stayed for 15 years.

Before his business career, Munn served five years in the Canadian

Navy on Atlantic convoy duty during World War II.

Munn likes to joke that he has a brusque personality -- one of the

reasons he stays busy is because his wife wanted him to spend more

time away from home.

Stephanie Voss, another volunteer driver, had a more charitable

assessment of Munn’s demeanor.

“He’s a very nice guy,” Voss said.

“He really believes in service.”