Many
of you who follow this blog had the pleasure of meeting Jim’s sister Pat. You
know she was the kindest of souls, one whose departure will cause a hole in
many people’s lives. This was evident by
the constant stream of classmates and teammates of her sons, friends,
relatives, and co-workers that came to her house to bid farewell in her final
weeks. Her courage during this period
was evident as she often said she was enjoying her wake. Jim has always said she was his “Guiding
Light” as he tried to follow in her foot steps in early adulthood. She will be greatly missed.
The
following is her obituary.
Patricia Lee (McMillen) Ackrell, born November 2, 1937,
passed away on June 27, 2016 surrounded by family at her home in San Rafael,
CA. Born and raised on a farm near Pittsburgh,
PA, Pat realized her deep passion for travel by first joining BOAC (now British
Airways) and then working in the travel and group tour industry locally. Prior to settling in California, the family
lived in Honolulu, Hawaii and Leicester, England. She lived in Marin County in the same home,
which she loved, for the past 43 years.
By the time she was 25 years old, she had already traveled
throughout Europe and had visited Morocco, India, and Japan. She traveled extensively for work, but also
made numerous trips with her family visiting too many places to count, but
including China, Peru, Sweden, and the Galapagos. She spent her last Christmas with family in
London-three great weeks in her favorite city abroad.
Pat had a great spirit of adventure and would try everything
once-whether herding reindeer and eating whale blubber in Alaska, helping
deliver mail above theatric Circle, walking the Great Wall of China, cruising
on the Nile, taking the Concorde, motorbiking in Marrakesh, skiing the Alps or
sledding and kayaking in Lake Tahoe-not too bad for a farm girl.
Pat is survived by Brian, her loving husband of 52 years,
her two devoted sons and daughters-in-law
Mark and Tarja of Austin, TX, and Mike and Wendy of San
Francisco, CA, along with cherished granddaughter Bellamy, and brother Jim and
sister-in-law Debby of Stuart, FL. She
loved being Tutu (Grandma), and was Mom to many. She was a wonderful, devoted daughter and
sister.
She was a passionate fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers,
Pirates, and Penguins. She would read
the sports section before work to have something new to talk about with her
boys at dinner.
Pat was always laughing and such a supportive listener. She had a gift for happiness and appreciation
for life’s small pleasures. Universally
loved and the most selfless, calm and gentle of women, she will be sorely
missed by relatives and friends around the globe.
With respect, and in lieu of flowers, the family requests
any donations be made to pat’s favorite charity Mainstay Life Services, c/o
Development Dept., 200 Roessler Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15220. Please note “In Memory of Patricia Ackrell”
on any donations. The family is planning
to hold a celebration of life later this year.
