Patricia Mello, 73, of New Bedford died May 31, 2009 at the Oaks Nursing Home after a brief illness.
Born in New Bedford, she was the daughter of the late Joseph and Elizabeth (Hamer) Mello. She graduated from Holy Family High School in 1953, earned a B.S. in elementary education from Bridgewater College, an MA in reading from Boston University, and CAGS from Boston College in urban education.
Patricia loved children and spent her entire educational career working for the New Bedford Public School System. She was a first grade teacher at the Carter Brooks School, she was also the director of the Model Cities Para-Professional Program. She taught kindergarten at the Campbell School and became an unwavering advocate for special needs students. She was responsible for the development of a kindergarten program that integrated special needs students into a regular kindergarten program. She also wrote grants and was able to obtain hundreds of thousands of dollars for special needs children and teacher training. Her last capacity before retirement was Supervisor of Special Education.
Patricia was an active member of her community and enjoyed giving to others. Patricia was a lifelong parishioner of St. Kilian's Church and received the Marian Medal for her dedicated services to the church. She worked with the Catholic Guild for the Blind, and was a ward representative for her district. Patricia was an avid reader and had many interests including music, theater, art, baking and sports. She enjoyed attending the NBSO, local plays, art openings as well as cheering on her favorite teams, the RedSox, Celtics and Patriots.
Her family would like to thank the staff at the Oaks Nursing Home for taking such good care of Patricia.
She is survived by her family, Shirley Oliver of Rochester and Lucy Crovello and Eunice Souza, both of New Bedford; several cousins and godchildren as well as many loving and dedicated friends.
Funeral from the Saunders-Dwyer Home For Funerals, 495 Park St. New Bedford Thursday, June 4th at 9:30 AM. Funeral Mass in St. Kilian's Church at 10:30 AM. Visiting hours Wednesday, June 3rd from 3-8 PM. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to the Schwartz Center for Children, One Posa Place, Dartmouth, MA 02747.