Patricia Anne Will

Patricia Anne “Pat” Smith Will passed away peacefully on December 9, 2021 at the age of 85. She was born in Poughkeepsie, NY on March 6, 1936, the daughter of Helen Hoops & Vincent F. Smith (first Chief of Police,Town of Poughkeepsie). She graduated from Arlington High School’s class of 1954. In 1956, she married Joseph J. Will of Poughkeepsie. Before having children, Pat worked as a secretary for IBM. Then in 1960, she began her family of four children; Timothy (Kelly), Sharon (Rich), Thomas (Stephanie) & Theodore (Suzanne) and was a homemaker in their residence at 30 Thomas Avenue in Poughkeepsie for many years. In addition to being an avid flower and herb gardener, Pat volunteered as a Christian Junior Kindergarten Teacher at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Poughkeepsie, NY. She was a member of New York State Federation of Home Bureaus where she enjoyed crafting within her community. She and her sister also enjoyed league bowling. Pat and her family enjoyed weekend camping trips with other families in what came to be known as the Rochdale Rovers group. She loved planning annual vacation camping trips to out-of-state national parks and other educational and historic locations. Pat began working part time at Vassar College in 1979 and soon moved into the Admissions Office at Vassar College working full time for the Dean of Admissions. She later advanced to working as an Administrative Assistant to Vassar’s Dean of Student Life until her retirement in 2007. In 1992, Pat’s first grandchild was born, beginning her favorite role as “Grammie.” She had ten grandchildren in all; Tiffany (Jesse), Elizabeth, Jennifer, Abigail (Thomas), Daniel (Jaden), Justin, Nicholas (Gabriella), Rachel, Meghan and Caleb. Grammie’s favorite pastime was making memories, spending time celebrating birthdays, holidays and anniversaries with her children and grandchildren, and was anticipating the birth of her first great grandchild due in January 2022. In 2018, Pat relocated to North Carolina to enjoy Cambridge Village, an Independent Senior Living Community in Apex, NC. There she made many new friends and participated in many activities, including Sunday worship services, gardening club, guided tours exploring NC, ceramics, bell ringing, singing in the choir and she loved playing cards in the evenings after dinner. Pat is predeceased by her parents and sister Carolyn Lyons. A Mass of Christian burial will take place at St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church, 725 Magdala Place, Apex, NC on Monday, December 20, 2021 at 11:00 o’clock in the morning. Inurnment will take place at Fishkill Rural Cemetery in Fishkill, NY.

Patricia Anne Will

March 6, 1936 - December 9, 2021