Pat Marshall
July 15, 2023
Patricia Marshall left us peacefully on Saturday, July 15, 2023 at Littleton Hospital. The day before, she was surrounded by her Colorado family, who shared stories and toasted her with margaritas, which she also thoroughly enjoyed. She received final wishes via phone calls from New Jersey granddaughters, friends and other relatives.
Pat was born Ida Rose Patricia Kihn on March 2, 1928 in Hillside, New Jersey. At age 5 she announced she wanted to be called Patsy. A middle child and the only daughter of William J Kihn and Clara Woodruff, she had an older brother, William Kihn, Jr. and a younger brother, David Kihn.
She loved reading and made her way through the books from A through S in the small Vermont library, until moving to a larger town in New Jersey during her senior year of high school, where she was co-valedictorian.
Pat’s mother Clara, saved from her household budget to ensure that Pat would be able to attend university. She headed off to Simmons College in Boston, where she graduated with a degree in chemistry. While in school she met Lloyd B. Marshall of Wakefield, Massachusetts, who was attending MIT after serving in the Army.
They married in 1950 and had three children, Robert, Valerie and Laura. In 1962 they moved from Cleveland, Ohio to Flushing, New York. Influenced by feminists such a Betty Friedan, Pat went back to school and acquired a Master’s degree in Library Science and launched her career as a corporate librarian. She ultimately retired from Exxon Mobil as the head of their Information Services division.
Pat enjoyed the New York art scene: opera, theater and music. Her hobbies included stamp collecting, miniatures, reading, ikebana, crossword puzzles, teaching ESL, Scrabble and a later-in-life turn at writing. This effort resulted in “Trilliums” a collection of short stories based upon her life that her family self-published for her 95th birthday.
A notable talent of Pat’s was her ability to listen and engage with nearly anyone she encountered. Her active listening made others instantly comfortable and allowed them to see her as a personal confidant and advisor. Many a time she would come home from work and tell us the story of someone who sat next to her on the subway ride home. This ability brought many diverse people into her life – and many called her friend.
In 2017, Pat moved from New Jersey to Colorado to be closer to her surviving daughter Valerie and her family. From this time until her death, Pat enjoyed deep and meaningful relationships with her grandchildren: Dan, Chelsey and Erica, as well as Willow and Ivy, children of her deceased daughter Laura. Pat was known as “Gigi” to her five great-grandchildren: Lincoln, Zachary, Clarke, Bernadette and Eloise.
For the past six years Pat made many friends with staff and residents of Cherry Hills Assisted Living in Centennial. She was one of the first residents at the facility and enjoyed playing cards and expressing her opinions at Resident’s Council. Book club and going out for lunch or dinner were also highpoints. Her door was usually open and many caregivers appreciated her listening ear. She loved sushi and salted-rim margaritas, rare filet mignon and anything with scallops or shrimp. And she was coming around to almost enjoying Tex-Mex spice!
She had an eventful and enjoyable life. She even survived Covid twice – the first time in November 2020 and a milder bout in 2021. But a broken hip from a fall 10 days before her passing, was too steep a challenge at that point in her journey. She chose to receive end-of-life care and went bravely and quickly, supported by the love of her family. Pat will be missed by everyone who was touched by her compassion, intelligence and humor.