|
 Margaret
Simpson Patterson, 86, died March 27, 2008 at her home from
pancreatic cancer, surrounded by her loving family. Born in
Lancaster, she was the daughter of the late William Hensel and
Agnes Malone Simpson.
She graduated from Sacred Heart School and Lancaster Catholic
High School. She worked at the Lancaster General Hospital and
attended the University of Pennsylvania while working at
Presbyterian Hospital in Philadelphia. Shortly after World War
II, she returned to Lancaster where she met Anthony R. "Pat"
Patterson, a young project engineer at Armstrong Cork Company.
They married shortly thereafter.
Her volunteer work was compelling and varied. As a young
woman, she served in many volunteer capacities at Sacred Heart
Church and the Junior League of Lancaster. After her family
relocated to Northeastern Pennsylvania, she established the
welcoming committee for newcomers at Our Lady of Snows Church
in Clarks Summit. She was also a founder of the Friends of
Lourdesmont, which assisted at-risk girls. She was dedicated
to the pro-life movement.
During her winters in Florida, she volunteered in the soup
kitchen of the Guadaupe Center of Immokalee, assisting
impoverished migrant laborers and their children. She also
worked at the charity thrift shop. In Lancaster, she was a
volunteer at St. Joseph's Hospital and Hospice of Lancaster
County. She was a superb communicator of both the oral and
written word, and enhanced profoundly the lives she touched.
She was preceded in death by her twin sister and by her
brothers W. Roger and George B. Simpson, her son, Joseph
Timothy Patterson, her daughter, Marian Patterson Byrnes, her
grandson, Thomas Patrick Byrnes, and her son-in-law, Mark
Edmund Burns. She is survived by her husband of 59 years,
Anthony R. Patterson, sons Anthony R. Patterson, Jr., DMD,
Christopher M. Patterson, Esq., and Matthew P. Patterson, DMD
of Lancaster, and George B. Patterson of Sewickley, and by
daughters Margaret Patterson Burns, LMSW, of Dallas, TX, and
Rosemary P. Costello of West Chester. She is also survived by
10 grandchildren and 19 nieces and nephews.
She was
preceded in death by her twin sister, Marian S. Rowan.
Mass of Christian burial will be held at Sacred Heart Catholic
Church, 558 W. Walnut Street, Lancaster, PA on Monday, March
31, 2008 at 10 AM. Interment will follow in St. Mary's
Catholic Cemetery. There will be a viewing at the Charles F.
Snyder Jr. Funeral Home and Chapel, 3110 Lititz Pike, Lititz,
PA on Sunday night from 7-9 PM and a viewing on Monday at
Sacred Heart from 9:00-9:45 AM. Sunday night the Rosary will
be recited at 8:45 PM
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Margaret's
memory to Hospice of Lancaster County, PO Box 4125, Lancaster,
PA 17604-4125; Lancaster Catholic High School, 650 Juliette
Ave., Lancaster, PA 17601; A Woman's Concern, 616 N. Duke St.,
Lancaster, PA 17602, or Sacred Heart of Jesus, 558 W. Walnut
St., Lancaster, PA 17603. |