Patricia (Pat) Ann Hentges
Pat Hentges, 90, passed away peacefully at home on February 28, 2024.
Pat was born, “Patty” Ann Patton, on December 4, 1933, to Nedra K. (Cumby) and Orville E. Patton in Jacksonville, IL. After Orville’s death, she became Patricia Green at the age of 11 when she was adopted by Nedra’s second husband, E. Merle Green. The Green’s moved to Indiana where Pat graduated from Lew Wallace High School in Gary, IN in 1951. Pat earned a BS degree in business in 1956 from Indiana University. Since there was not much opportunity for women in business in the late ‘50’s, she moved to Cincinnati, OH in 1960 and attended the University of Cincinnati to earn her degree in Education.
Pat was a life-long advocate for children, education, and public schools. She taught in Ohio public schools for nearly 20 years before moving to the Pacific Northwest in 1988. She started her Washington teaching career at the Eugene P. Tone School for homeless children in Tacoma, WA. She then taught kindergarten, first and second grades at Roosevelt Elementary School in Tacoma until she retired in 1999. After retirement, she continued her advocacy for children by volunteering for Family Law CASA which gives a voice for children in court proceedings.
Pat loved dogs and enjoyed traveling, reading historical and fictional stories, and watching college basketball (her beloved Indiana Hoosiers).
Pat is survived by her daughters, Kathy of San Francisco, CA and Laura of Seattle, WA; dear friends from her teaching days in Tacoma; a dear friend from high school and college; new friends at her senior living community in Seattle; and extended Green family. Pat is predeceased by her ex-husband Robert A. Hentges.
A memorial service will be held at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, Pat requested a donation in her memory to Family Law CASA or the Indiana University Foundation, Herman B Wells Library Endowment Fund.