REXFORD — “On Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020, Patricia Mabee Patrick moved on to her next adventure as she passed from this Earth at Mountain Valley Hospice in Gloversville, New York,” her family wrote in a tribute. She was 82.

She was born in Amsterdam, New York to James and Martha (née Deuel) Mabee on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 25, 1937. Raised in Colonie, she went on to graduate from Syracuse University where she met and married Richard J. Patrick on Dec. 27, 1958.

She then went on to receive her master’s degree in library science from the University at Albany leading her to a long career in the Capital Region library system, beginning at the Guilderland Free Library and culminating with many years as head of children’s services for the Upper Hudson Library Federation.  

She was able to retire in 1995 and spent the following years traveling throughout North America with her husband until he died in 2013. Some of their travels included seeing the northern lights and polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba in February, traveling on a Russian icebreaker through the Northwest Passage, volunteering as a teacher in Monument Valley on the Navajo reservation, and countless nature and birding trips throughout the lower 48 and Alaska.

In addition to her travel, she was an avid patron of the local arts with season tickets to Albany Civic Theater, Capital Rep, The Clark, and Glimmerglass Opera.

“Patsy was always supportive of family and friends,” her family wrote. “Her quiet strength will be greatly missed by all who had the privilege of knowing her.”

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Patricia Mabee Patrick is survived by her two brothers, Thomas Mabee and his wife, Barbara, of Westerlo, and Richard Mabee and his wife, Gail, of Albany, and by her two sons Jan Patrick and his wife, Tammy, of Johnstown, New York, and Roger Patrick and his wife, Christy, of Easthampton, Massachusetts.

She is also survived by her grandchildren, Emily Williams and her husband, Matt, and Cole Patrick, and by her step-grandchildren, Julia and Peter Wilson, plus several nieces and nephews. 

After the death of her husband, she moved from Westmere to Coburg Village in Rexford where she leaves behind many friends both new and old, including her next-door neighbor, Arnold Jaffe, dear friend Mary Zak, and longtime friends from Syracuse University, Roger and Pat Swanson.

Visiting hours will be on Monday, Oct. 19, at the Reilly & Son Funeral Home in Voorheesville between 3 and 6 p.m. 

“The best way to remember Patsy would be to read or donate a book, support a local performance or visual arts group, or just take a walk in the woods and enjoy the beauty of nature,” her family wrote.