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.