Patricia Farrell, 76, of the Village at Penn State, died Thursday, Nov. 4, 2010, from complications of Parkinson's Disease.
Born in Bellefonte Aug.18, 1934, Pat was a lifelong resident of State College. She was preceded in death by her parents, Michael A. and Frances G. Farrell; and her brothers, John and Peter. She is survived by her sister, Ann F. Roscoe, of Tucson, Ariz.; her niece, Carol R. Sharick (Ray), of Amherst, Mass.; and her nephews, John S. Roscoe (Carol), of Garden City, N.Y., Michael Farrell (Melinda), of St. Paul Minn., and Patrick Farrell (Valerie), of San Diego; and seven grand-nieces and grand-nephews.
To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit betterÉ.(Emerson); this was Pat.
She had a joy for life, which she imparted to all who knew her. Pat welcomed friends and family from across the country to her home on Arbor Way. She loved children and entertained them with intriguing and challenging toys. She was a musician, athlete, teacher, humanist and community leader.
Her lifelong love of music was as a performer and as a listener. As a student at State College High School, she attended State Band playing the trombone, and State Chorus as a soprano. She sang in choral groups throughout her life including the SCHS A Capella Choir and Ten Tones, Penn State Chapel Choir, Pennsylvania Chamber Chorale, Renaissance Singers, Madrigal Singers, San Francisco Symphony Chorus, State College Presbyterian Church Choir and Centre Heritage Singers. A longtime member of the State College Choral Society, they recently honored her by the establishment of a graduate student scholarship fund in her name. Her love of opera took her to the Metropolitan Opera in New York many times until the "HD Live at the Met" series came closer to home; she also taught an opera appreciation course for the Academy for Life Long Learning.
At age 62, as a retirement present to herself, she bicycled across the United States in three stages raising funds for the University Library. With the exception of the first two weeks, she rode solo for the 67-day trip, always saying, "hills are our friends."
Pat was a natural athlete who excelled in every sport she played, including hockey, basketball, tennis, softball, water skiing and golf. She also loved to fly kites. Pat was a third-generation Penn Stater; her father and grandfather also held faculty positions at Penn State.
She graduated in 1956 from Penn State, where she was president of the Women's Recreation Association, vice president of the Physical Education Student Council, vice president of Kappa Alpha Theta and member of Mortar Board Honor Society. She received her master's degree from the University of Minnesota and her doctor of education from Penn State in 1972. After 30 years of teaching, research and leadership, she retired with emerita rank from the College of Health and Human Development. Pat was active in the state and national recreation and parks professional societies. With Herberta Lundegren, she is the co-author of two textbooks on leadership and the effectiveness of recreational programming.
She mentored many students and young professional women, supervising the theses of five doctoral and 29 master's candidates. Pat co-sponsored the Ms. Wiz program for junior high school girls to encourage further study in the sciences. Also at Penn State, she co-founded and was chairperson of the Commission for Women, was Penn State's first Administrative Fellow in 1986 working under Steve Garban, senior vice president for finance. She served for three years as the first Affirmative Action Officer, and served as chair of her department from 1976 to 1983. In 1975, Pat, acting as a spokesperson for many others, asked the Board of Trustees to revise the Alma Mater to author Fred Pattee's suggestion so that now we sing "childhood's gate" rather then "boyhood's gate" and "Dear old State" rather then "into men." Pat has been recognized for her service to the community and to the university. She received the McKay Donkin Award in 1975, the Barash Award in 1991 and the Fred M. Coombs Honor Award. In 1998, she was chosen as the Renaissance Woman of the year. From 2003 to 2005, she served as president of the Board of Directors of the Renaissance Fund. Pat helped build two houses for Women's Build for Habitat for Humanity and later served on their board of directors. She chaired the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts and the Centre County Community Foundation. For the Penn State Alumni Association, she was elected member of the Alumni Council and its Executive Board. Pat helped to raise funds as co-chair of the Faculty and Staff Challenge for the Campaign for Penn State and was chair of the annual giving committee of the Libraries Development Advisory Committee. She also served as president of the Mount Nittany Conservancy, as co-chair of State College's Art in Public Places Committee and on the board of Pennsylvania Centre Stage. Pat was a deacon and elder at State College Presbyterian Church.
At her request, private services will be held at the convenience of the family. Memorial contributions may be directed to the Patricia Farrell Renaissance Scholarship Fund, University Development, 105 Old Main, University Park PA 16802; or to the Centre County Community Foundation, P.O. Box 648, State College, PA 16804, for a fund created to support choral musical organizations.