CORTLAND ­— Pattrice K. “Pat” Howe (nee Bennett), 66, a resident of Cortland, formerly of Edina, Minn., Naperville and Rochelle, passed away unexpectedly on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017.
She was born Dec. 5, 1950 in Hastings, Neb.
Pat is survived by her husband, Bob; her mother, Shirley Bennett of Minneapolis, Minn.; her sisters, Shadlea (husband, Steve) Williams and Cheri (husband, the late Robert) Fischer; her son, Matt (wife, Elissa) and grandchildren, Penelope and Maxine of Naperville, her daughter, Dana and grandson, Keon of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
She was preceded in death by her father, Robert J. Bennett; and parents-in-law, Hutton and Ruth Howe.
Pat was born in Hastings, Neb., and grew up in Florida and Edina, Minn. She worked as a surgical tech and flight attendant for Northwest Airlines before meeting her husband-to-be on a flight from Chicago to Minneapolis on May 15, 1972. They were engaged on July 1, 1972 and married on July 29, 1972. They welcomed their son, Matt, in November 1973 and daughter, Dana in February 1976. After Matt and Dana were born, Pat choose to be a stay-at-home mom and be the best mother and homemaker she could be. Pat’s family was and still is the most important part of her life, especially her grandchildren, Keon, Penelope, Maxine and of course, Molly dog. They will miss their “Granny.”
Pat was the most unselfish person you could know. She was the best wife a husband could ever dream of having. The same can be said of her love of her children and family. When she took on a job it was always done at 250 percent. She never turned down a difficult or unwanted project, if asked.
While never a computer “expert,” Pat became very proficient in recent years with her Facebook friends and stories, reading daily what other people had to say and commenting on the many topics that interested her.
She also had a love of animals especially dogs and cats. She cared for many, many stray cats that showed up on the doorsteps while living out in the country in Rochelle for 25 years. SuziQ and Mama Kitty will miss her terribly. She took special care of the 18 dogs she and her husband had over their 45 years of marriage whether it was the National Champion, Flash Dance Ginny or the most recent family member, rescue dog, Sassy. Her love of animals was unequalled.
Pat always wanted to donate her body to science, hopefully to provide some information to help someone else. Her husband has honored that request.
A Memorial Visitation will be held on Saturday, Nov. 4 from 3 - 6 p.m. at Friedrich-Jones Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 44 S. Mill St., Naperville.
While never one to ask for anything, but, with her love of all animals, she would be very happy for any donations made on her behalf to Tails Humane Society, 2250 Barber Greene Road, DeKalb, IL 60115, (815) 758-2457 (815.75.TAILS), www.tailshumanesociety.org
For more information, please call (630) 355-0213 or visit www.friedrich-jones.com.