Shirley "Pat" Patricia Crowley's Obituary
To a life well-lived, we raise a glass (preferably champagne) in celebration of Patricia Crowley, an amazing woman, wife, mother, aunt, and friend, who died on January 20th of natural causes with family by her side.
Pat was predeceased by her loving husband of 50 years, Eugene F. Crowley and is survived by her children and their life partners, Patricia Crowley Bish (Bennie Bish) and Paula Crowley (Kathleen Williams), several nieces and nephews, 2 grand dogs and 1 grand cat. Pat always went by her middle name because she grew up in the Shirley Temple era and frankly, didn’t want to be called “curly Shirley”. Hence-forth, she was known as S. Patricia or Pat.
Pat was born on October 6th, 1927, and grew up in Altoona, PA, from humble roots, the youngest sister of three. She graduated from Penn State University in the late 40s with a B.S. in Biochemistry and was proud to be one of only a handful of women entering into that scientific discipline at the time. This was the beginning of her life-long quest to learn and conquer anything that was interesting to her and where she could use her substantial brain while supporting herself, something her father instilled in her, and her two older sisters at an early age. She in all aspects was the quintessential Renaissance woman. Following college, Pat met the love of her life, Gene, while he was studying law at Albany Law School while she worked at GAF as a biochemist. They were married in 1952 and not long after adopted two red-headed twin girls that became the center of their lives. Although Pat stayed at home for a time to raise the girls, and was an accomplished seamstress and homemaker, very soon she was back seeking new adventures. She was appointed Civil Service Commissioner in Binghamton for a time and spent many years volunteering as a docent at the Roberson Memorial Museum and Science Center educating others about the life and history of the Native American Indian tribes that were a part of the history of upstate NY. She then went on to teach high school at Susquehanna Valley High School for several years. When the opportunity came for Pat and Gene to partner with other family and friends to invest in the restaurant business, Pat never flinched and quickly got up to speed learning the financial end of the business and successfully ran the Roaring Fork and Alamo Restaurant chain in Binghamton, NY for many years. During the summer months, Pat was well-known for her talent at teaching any Oquaga Lake resident or visitor how to water-ski after learning it by herself. After a life filled with many careers, Pat retired only to find herself wanting to volunteer the knowledge that she had acquired in the restaurant management business through S.C.O.R.E., a non-profit organization that offers the time and knowledge of retired business executives to would-be entrepreneurs at no charge. Pat and Gene enjoyed traveling all over the world and spent many months out of the year living in St. Augustine, FL, a favorite location where Pat once again could be found volunteering her time working at a local hospital as a pink lady where she provided books, newborn baby hats, blankets, and a smile to families there. Pat moved permanently to Gainesville in 2011 to be near family where she continued her volunteer activities with S.C.O.R.E. and enjoyed the local art and theatre scene as well as classes at the Institute for Learning in Retirement at Oak Hammock. Most of all, Pat instilled in her two daughters that they had amazing strength within and would always be able to lead fulfilling and financially independent lives by having a strong work ethic, self-respect and love and compassion for others. Equally important was having a life full of happiness and joy. There aren’t enough words to recount all of Pat’s life endeavors, but suffice it to say, she lived a long, happy, and fulfilling life. She was deeply loved and will be sorely missed. In honor of Pat’s wishes, there will be no formal services held and in lieu of flowers or gifts, please strongly consider a donation of your time or resources to any non-profit organization, and most important, be happy and have fun.
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