Patricia Josephine Abbott

Patricia Josephine (Schneider) Abbott was born January 14, 1927, in Lake Elmo, Minnesota, and passed away quietly the early morning of October 4, 2022. She was 95.

Pat was the daughter of Paul Oscar and Thelma Irene (Conner) Schneider. She grew up in Lake Elmo with many Schneider cousins, and she walked the 2 miles to and from school from the family home on Lake Elmo Dr., across from the lake. She and her cousins and neighborhood friends learned to swim early and enjoyed the lake in the summer; Pat enjoyed rowing for her dad as he fished.  She graduated from Stillwater High School in 1944 and was elected class secretary and homecoming queen.  After graduating she became a professional secretary and executive assistant; while working at the Emporium she served one winter as a ‘princess’ in the Winter Carnival, and in her escort met her future husband John Steele Abbott Jr. (Jack) who had returned from service in the Pacific during WW II. They were married June 18, 1949 and moved to Colorado where Jack was a C.P.A. and Pat first a secretary, later a homemaker, and later again a secretary for architectural and legal firms in the Tech Center area.  They first lived in an apartment in Lakewood, then in a small house on Krameria St., and then a larger house on Josephine St. just south of Congress Park and the Botanic Gardens.  In 1968 they moved out to a house in Bow Mar, where they lived for thirty years.  After Jack had retired, they enjoyed traveling, with favorite destinations San Diego, Mexico especially Cabo San Lucas, the Broadmoor, and the Santa Fe Opera.   In 2001 Jack passed away and in 2008 Pat sold the house, moving to the new retirement community now called Vi Highlands Ranch. She enjoyed ten wonderful years in independent living with many new friends and many activities.  She loved the excursions to see the Metropolitan Opera Broadcasts at the nearby theater complex and lunch with friends at small restaurants in Highlands Ranch.  In 2019 she moved into assisted living at the Care Center, where she safely weathered the pandemic but missed her friends and family.   

Pat is survived by three children John, Ken, and Carolyn, five grandchildren, and one great-grandchild (with two more on the way).  She had a sister Dorothy (Dot) and a brother John (Jack) who have passed away, with 6 nieces and nephews in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

A memorial service will be held in August 2023 as Pat’s ashes are interred at Fort Logan National Cemetery joining the gravesite of her husband Jack.  In lieu of flowers memorial donations are suggested to Alzheimer’s Association https://www.alz.org/  or the Metropolitan Opera Broadcasts https://www.metopera.org/support/gift-forms/support-the-met-broadcasts/ 

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