Pat Symons, age 76, died on August 25, 2012, from complications following a heart operation.
Pat was born Patricia Ann Gregaitis in Mineoloa, NY, on July 30, 1936, to Paul and Nellie Gregaitis. She graduated from Bloomfield High School and attended the University of Connecticut in Storrs. In June, 1959, she married John E. Symons in Farmington, CT.
Pat is best remembered as a loving and cheerful friend, a woman with a perpetual smile and quick laughter. She loved to serve others, and could always be counted on to provide meals and home-baked goods whenever friends and family were gathered. She also was gifted in math, puzzles, problem solving, knitting, and cross-stitch, and used those gifts on a regular basis to brighten the lives of the people she knew.
At the same time, Pat was not timid when it came to adventure. She graduated from aeronautics ground school, and learned how to fly airplanes. She was also an avid sailor, sailing for more than 30 years out of Mystic and Noank with her husband. When retirement was on the horizon they moved to Mystic in 1996.
She was quick to make new friends, yet she also maintained countless old friendships for her entire lifetime. She met with one group of close friends on a daily basis for coffee in downtown Mystic, and played Canasta regularly for more than 30 years with three friends, who traveled all the way from Simsbury, CT.
Early in her marriage Pat was an active member of the South Congregational Church in New Britain, CT, president of the New Britain Jaycee Wives and leadership for her sons’ Cub Scouts. She was a faithful member and servant of the Mystic Flag Committee, and a member of the West Cove Yacht Club. She worked as an administrative assistant at Prudential Realty in Avon, CT for many years, and at Mystic Stainless & Aluminum until her retirement.
She leaves her husband, John E. Symons, of Mystic; sons Schuyler Symons, Scott Symons, and Adam Symons; siblings Helen Venora and Paul Gregaitis; and several nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, September 12, at 2 P.M. in the Greenman Chapel at Elm Grove Cemetery, Rte. 27, Mystic, CT, Rev. William Zito presiding. Donations in Pat’s memory can be made to the Mystic Seaport, P.O. Box 6000, Mystic CT 06355.
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