MEREDITH----Patricia “Pat” B. Morten, 98, died peacefully, Wednesday, August 14, 2019, at home surrounded by family and her devoted cat, Julius. She lived at Meredith Bay Colony Club, Meredith, NH, after residing in Dover, MA, and Moultonborough, NH.
Pat was born on July 26, 1921, in Pittsburgh, PA. She grew up in Needham, MA, and Darien, CT. Pat earned her bachelor’s degree from Mount Holyoke College in 1943, was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and did graduate work in counseling at Boston University and in fine arts at Plymouth State University. During World War II, Lieutenant (jg) Patricia E. Best was a US Naval Reserve WAVE (Women Accepted for Emergency Service) stationed in Washington, DC, where she handled top-secret-ultra material and helped break Japanese codes for the Naval Communications Intelligence Organization. She and her unit were awarded a commendation for outstanding performance. In 1946 she married John F. Morten.
After a career in College Counseling at the Dana Hall School in Wellesley, MA, she joined her husband to become VP of Operations at UDEC Corporation, which developed state-of-the-art energy-efficient lighting and emergency systems. Pat was an active volunteer for Mount Holyoke College and recipient of the Alumnae Medal of Honor. As a member of the Massachusetts Commonwealth Service Corps she was the chair of a pilot program designed to meet the needs of the retired and elderly. She also taught swimming to the disabled, taught Sunday School, was active in church initiatives and local women’s groups, and ran programs for the elderly.
An avid reader and conversationalist, lover of classical music, bridge player, enthusiastic traveler, loving mother and wife, and consummate homemaker and hostess, Pat’s avocation was art. She was a jewelry maker, silversmith, painter, printmaker, and sculptor. While experimenting with many media, she worked primarily in metal creating welded and cast sculptures, encaustics, and a variety of print processes.
She leaves her two daughters, Patricia A. Morten and her husband, Glenn Gustavson, of Lincoln, MA, and Meredith Morten of Boston, MA; three grandchildren, Jessica Morten Davis of Edinburgh, Scotland, Laura Morten Gustavson of Fama, Minas Gerais, Brazil, and Lincoln, MA, and Eric Morten Gustavson of Mountain View, CA.
A Memorial Service will be held at 11:30 a.m., Friday, October 18, 2019, at the First Congregational Church of Meredith, 4 Highland Street, Meredith, NH.
Interment will be private.
In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to Mount Holyoke College, Office of Advancement, PO Box 889, South Hadley, MA 01075-0889 (or online).
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 164 Pleasant Street, Laconia, N.H. is assisting the family with the arrangements.