Patricia Anne Wing

Patricia Anne Wing

April 22, 1942 – October 19, 2020

A Tribute to Our Beloved Mother

Pat was born in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1942 and grew up in Key West, Florida before becoming a nurse, getting married, traveling the world, moving to California in 1970, and becoming a mother. She worked as a school nurse for the majority of her career in Ojai, California where she lived from 1983 until her death. Although she suffered from many health problems over the past 40 years, Pat persevered as a wonderful mother, friend, nurse, and grandma by dedicating herself to a healthy lifestyle of good food, endless projects, writing, gardening, traveling, and dedicated spirituality.

Biography

Pat’s parents Leah (nee McCuskey) and Tom Whitley met and married in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1938. Tom was a jazz musician and big band leader for the Wheeling Steel nationally-broadcast radio show and Leah played church organ and worked in a local music store after graduating from college with a music degree. Patty had fond memories of her early childhood in Wheeling with her parents and grandparents, her older brother Mike, and friends all around. In 1949, the family moved to Key West, Florida, where Tom’s parents and other family members had moved to take advantage of the warm tropical weather. Pat loved her elementary and high school years in Key West and the island was a core part of her identity for the rest of her life – she stayed in touch up until her final days with many dear friends from her childhood there, went back many times to visit her brother Mike who practiced medicine on the island for years, returned to attend high school reunions, and had Key West shells and memorabilia all over her house. Her last visit there in the summer of 2019 with her daughter, two of her grandkids, and one of her high school buddies was truly special. She often reminisced about life in ‘50s Key West – climbing trees to eat tropical fruit, enjoying the musicians, artists, and writers who were either part of or surrounded her creative family, loving everything about the Cuban culture that was central to Key West, boating and diving all around the keys, driving up to Miami, and working her first jobs in shops on Duval Street.   

After graduating high school in 1960, Patty went to nursing school in Norfolk, Virginia; this was a wonderful experience for her as she roomed with many young women who became life-long friends. She worked in the wards at the general hospital while training, which was, based on the many stories she used to tell about those years, full of exciting episodes! During this time period, she met her future husband, Bruce Wing, while attending a dance with young men from nearby William and Mary College, which he attended. She moved up to Boston for her first job as a nurse at New England Deaconess Hospital. The mid-60s was an exciting time to be a young working woman with her own apartment in a big city; she always said she felt like she had really “grown up” at that point. While she was beginning her application to the Peace Corps, Bruce and Pat reunited and decided to marry. Bruce was joining the Navy as a pilot. They married in 1965 and lived on naval bases in Florida and Texas before being based in Spain, Morocco, and then Iceland where Bruce was based for two years. Iceland became a special place that Patty always remembered fondly for the warm people, beautiful landscape and stark weather, and fun times with other Navy families. Their son Eric was born there in 1968.

The family moved to San Diego, California when Bruce was hired by Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) as a commercial pilot after serving in the Navy. Pat worked at University Hospital and took care of her son, then in 1972 her daughter Elizabeth was born. Around this same time, Pat got cancer and spent several years in and out of treatment. She also became very interested in Eastern philosophy and religion, mainly the teachings of Sathya Sai Baba who she would come to see as her spiritual guru for the rest of her life. In the mid-70s, she and Bruce sponsored a Vietnamese refugee family with whom she stayed in contact for the rest of her life. Patty and Bruce divorced in 1977, and her mother Leah came to live nearby and help her raise the children; Pat’s father had passed away a couple of years earlier. Pat became very involved with the Sai Baba Center in San Diego. From 1978 on, she would travel to India to see her spiritual teacher over 10 times, sometimes staying for months. His teachings and the community of loving people she met through this organization were a central part of her life up until she passed. From the late ‘70s through the early ‘80s, Pat worked in San Diego as an instructor at a local nursing school and at a health institute while raising her two children.

In 1983, Patty decided to move to Ojai for a fresh start. She worked as a school nurse at the Ojai Valley School, and went on to run the Villanova Prep Health Center for 6 years and direct the Thacher School Health Center from 1990-2007. At both Villanova and Thacher, she was beloved by her colleagues in the administration, faculty, and staff, as well as the many students to whom she was not only a nurse, but also a confidant, mother, and friend. In 1986, Patty’s mother Leah and her two kids, Elizabeth and Eric, moved up to live with her. In Ojai, Pat found many like-minded friends with whom she became very close and shared wonderful experiences over many years. She traveled to Canada and New Mexico with her friends, to Italy with her mom, to Spain with her daughter, and took many other trips near and far. Pat’s son Eric got married in 1995 and he and his wife Jennifer settled in Ojai to work and raise their two sons, John and Evan. Pat was so happy to have part of her family nearby and become close to Jennifer’s extended family as well. Pat’s mother Leah passed away in December 1997. Elizabeth came and went often during her years in college and graduate school, spending many summers and holidays at home with Pat. For almost 30 years, Pat enjoyed living at Pierpont Cottages in Ojai where she had a peaceful daily life with her close neighbors and friends, her lovely home and yard, her various cats and beloved dog Bijou.  

After retiring from Thacher School, Pat became a licensed clinical aromatherapist and devoted much of the past 10 years to her business, Ojai Healing Essentials. During her retirement, she also spent countless hours dedicated to the Sai Baba Organization - speaking at events, serving people through volunteer work, and writing study guides, lesson manuals for the children’s human values program, and stories about Sai Baba. She loved spending time with her children and grandchildren in Ojai and in Oakland, where her daughter Elizabeth and her husband Andrew, their kids Luca, Georgia, and Paloma live. The whole family gathered frequently in Ojai, and also took many trips together to LA, Napa, Yosemite, Mammoth, Colorado, and Mexico, or camping trips along the California coastline. She was very close to her two children and their spouses, her 5 grandchildren, her brother Mike and his daughter Rachel, and she dearly loved her cousins and relatives all over the country.

Despite many health problems during her last 20 years, Patty remained positive due to her a tremendous strength to rise above, persevere, and enjoy life. She never stopped being busy with all kinds of hobbies and projects. She became fascinated with all things related to Scotland once she discovered the "Outlander" novel series. She taught herself Gaelic through music and poetry, studied the histories of England, Scotland, and Ireland (including her genealogy on both sides), and learned to do Ogham tree readings. In 2017 she and her daughter spent a couple of fun weeks exploring Northern Scotland. Pat loved nature, gardening, herbs and trees, and spent many days exploring Ojai and Santa Barbara gardens. Her work with essential oils became a passion; her clients and customers raved about the healing powers of her medicinal blends and creams. She was an avid reader of history, religion, novels, and politics, she kept journals on various topics, wrote newsletters for her aromatherapy business, and wrote a couple of books for the Sai Baba organization. She loved watching British detective shows, kept up with politics and current events, enjoyed good movies and popcorn, listened to music while she worked around the house, and got up to dance from time to time. She was always up for an adventure! To her credit, Pat did crossword and jigsaw puzzles every single day; she said this was good brain exercise, kept her distracted from her health problems, and never got old!

Patricia passed away this past October 19th from to her 4th bout with cancer. She spent her final weeks peacefully at home with her children, a few close friends, and loyal dog by her side, just as she wanted. It is hard to express how much she meant to us… While we miss her immensely, we are forever grateful to have spent so much precious time with her and learned so much from her. She will always be remembered with love, and we take solace in the fact that her spirit is alive in all of those she touched throughout her life.

-Elizabeth and Eric