Patricia “Pat” Lewicki, 83

July 11, 1941 - June 09, 2025

Patricia E. Lewicki, 83 passed away peacefully in the presence of her family on June 9, 2025. She fought a brave and courageous 5 year constant battle with cancer. She was born on July 11, 1941 in Lancaster, PA. and was the daughter of the late John and Blanche (Binkley) Emich of Lititz. Pat was the loving wife of Walter J. (Jack) Lewicki, Jr. of Woodcrest Villas, Lancaster, PA., and would have celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary on September 14th of this year.

An outstanding athlete, Pat was a 1959 graduate of Hempfield High School. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from Tufts University and a physical therapy diploma from Bouve-Boston School of Physical Therapy and Physical Education in 1963. At Bouve-Boston, which was affiliated with Tufts University at that time, she served in various leadership positions including president of student government, the School of Special Studies, and on Bouve’s Honors Board.

Pat was active on the Tufts campus as well. She continued to play tennis with anyone willing to play. While completing her education as a physical therapist, she was a member of the Tufts Varsity Cheerleading Squad. In addition, in 1963, she was crowned Varsity Club Queen and Queen of the Interfraternity Ball.

After college, Pat worked full time for a year in the Physical Therapy Department of Jefferson Medical College Hospital in Philadelphia. She and her husband Jack started rearing their family with the birth of their first daughter Tricia in 1965. In 1966 with her husband’s job change, she returned to Lancaster and started working part-time at the Edna Schreiber Pediatric Rehab Center, (known as the Easter Seal Society of Lancaster County), Byers Physical Therapy, and Lanco Therapy Associates. The family grew with two additional children, Mark in 1967 and Sharon in 1970.

Pat liked to learn. She started sewing dresses for the girls for special occasions: Christmas, Easter, and maybe for a prom or two. She completed a Queen size pin wheel quilt, where the wheels were all hand sewn from pieces of scrap fabric collected over the years from other sewing projects. She enjoyed knitting as well. The family always knew that when she had her knitting needles out, someone was going to receive a sweater at Christmas or on a birthday.

Pat like to garden and their previous home of nearly 53 years was an ideal place for her to naturalize the wooded area behind their home. Their home was located on a hill and having a wooded back yard with very tall oak trees. She and Jack planted flowering dogwoods native to Pennsylvania, producing white and pink flowers in the spring; ericaceous plants, shrubs, perennials, and annuals. Pat knew when a shrub or plant was struggling. She replanted it often to find a location where it would flourish. One year, to her surprise and extreme delight, a blanket of impatiens appeared from a previous year’s planting and carpeted the entire back wooded area with an array of spectacular colors.

She was elected to the Hempfield School board in 1977. Became President in 1983 and represented the Hempfield S District on the Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13 board for several years. She was a 10 year member of the board. A very special moment for her as the President of the school board was giving her daughter and each of her friends their diplomas when they graduate from high school.

In addition to raising a young family, Pat played competitive tennis winning various local competitions in both singles and doubles tournaments. She won the singles CPTA VOLVO 4.5 Championships in 1986, 1988, and 1989. She enjoyed watching major tennis tournaments such as Wimbledon and the French Open. Her favorite NCAA sports team was Duke’s basketball team.

She graciously served her community, church (Holy Spirit Lutheran Church on Columbia Ave., Lancaster), and attended her children’s sports activities. If she could, she attended every daughters’ tennis matches and son’s swimming meets.

The love of sports filtered down to each of her grandchildren. She attended many of her oldest grandson’s tennis and cross-country meets, and she was her oldest granddaughter’s No.1 fan at her soccer games. Additionally, she attended many of her youngest granddaughters’ soccer, basketball, and lacrosse games as her health would permit.

Most important to Pat was spending time with her family. She made numerous trips to visit her sister Charlotte (deceased) at her ranch near Cody, Wyoming. Her many trips to her beach house in Bethany Beach, Delaware brought her immediate family together to enjoy each other’s company. During these times she would serve her most famous homemade culinary dishes: Nan’s chicken salad, her special spaghetti meat sauce, and her homemade strombolis.

In addition, family times after tennis, on the beach in Ocean City N.J., on ski trips to New England, and extensively traveled the Southwest, where some of her family emigrated, brought her unforgettable memories, fun and laughter. Furthermore, she traveled to the U. K. with her close college friends resulting in precious journeys that she shared with her family. Furthermore, she and Jack traveled to Bermuda, many European countries, the Bahamas, Spain and Russia.

Pat started a family tradition after celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary with the entire family on a week’s vacation in Latty Cove, Maine. Every 2 years another anniversary was celebrated: twice in Bethany Beach, DE; in Dillon, CO.; in Ashville, N.C., and at Lake Placid, N.Y. This year she will be “in spirit” with the family at Stillwater Haven, Friendsville, MD. She enjoyed arranging these trips. After one was completed, she would start searching for the next location, 2 years in advance.

Pat is survived by her husband Jack, and 3 children: Tricia Sollenberger (Kurt) of Elizabethtown, PA. and their children, Dr. Drew Sollenberger (Jared Holden) of Galena, Ohio, Erin Krick (Chad) of Mechanicsburg, PA. & their children Max, Henry and Cooper; Mark Lewicki (Jen) of Highlands Ranch, CO. and their children: Jordan, Seth and Jeremy; and Sharon Baker (Matt) of Catonsville, MD, and their children Chloe and Elise; her dog Nova; and 2 brothers. She was predeceased by her parents and a dearly cherished sister Charlote.

You are respectfully invited to a memorial service at Gamber Auditorium located in the Viva Center at Woodcrest Villas, 2001 Harrisburg Pike, Lancaster, PA 17601 on Saturday August 23rd, at 11:00 AM. Visitation with the family will take place after the service. Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial gift in Pat’s memory to Hospice & Community Care, PO BOX 4125, Lancaster, PA. 17604-4125 or to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, P.O. Box 5028 Hagerstown, MD 21741-5028