Pat was born Patricia J. McLean on May 20th,
1929 in Saginaw, Michigan and grew up there, later moving to Oregon.
Pat was a seeker. She loved stimulating conversations,
especially political. Although she lived alone, she enjoyed and got
satisfaction from “debating the television”; she would switch channels, to
either reinforce her beliefs or try to convince those of the “wrong” persuasion
of some facts.
Pat was a “Red Bag” OLLI student. She loved taking
classes and said many times that her affections, developed over her many OLLI
years, transverses a wide array of students and instructors.
In her lifelong seeking mission, she arrived at a
very peaceful and pragmatic philosophy. She was at peace in her spiritual
beliefs, embracing her inner-spiritual self. She loved attending the Dharma group at the Unitarian Universalist
Church in Newbury Park; she found solace and peace throughout her short illness
in those beliefs and practices.
She was also a seeker of adventure: She traveled
extensively from college through the 80’s. She went to exotic places during the
70’s, Tahiti and the Pacific Islands; in Europe she camped the back roads,
wonderful stories of farmer fields and wild, primeval parks; she traveled later
with Elderhostel.
Pat’s only unfilled dream was to visit with the Cheetahs of
Africa…..so she did the second best and spent a weekend at the San Diego Wild Animal
Park in a visiting village, and enjoyed the night cries and calls of the
lions and tigers and all the permanent residents of the park.
She lived in her Camarillo home for more than 30 years, but early in her career as an Occupational Therapist she moved from Michigan to Texas before finally settling in California where she was with Simi
Valley Hospital for 15 years. She later worked throughout Ventura County county with Head Start and Home Health Care service.
Pat worked out religiously at LA Workout, where her
friends would find her keeping pace with those considerably younger that
herself.
Her continued love of animals led her to volunteering at the Wildlife
Center in Malibu where she could be seen interacting with
the her “critters and birds” for many years. Pat was also a strong supporter of
the Animal Shelter in Camarillo taking into her home a few “McLean” pets over the
years.
Following a brief period of illness, Pat McLean died on Thursday, June 13, 2013. In accordance with her wishes, she was cremated, her ashes returned to Michigan, and there was no memorial service.
...from Geri Gretan:
ReplyDeleteI remember meeting Pat during the first set of classes OLLI ever held in the Bell Tower. We were pioneers, and she was one of the most enthusiastic and faithful members. Even as she became aware that she was very ill, she was asking another friendly student to pick up the notes from Bill's class for her. And speaking of class, she was full of it. As she became more and more ill, she maintained her sense of humor and shared a serenity rarely seen as one approaches this transition in life. Fred and I feel honored to have known this quiet friend, and will miss her gentle presence in the coming years.
My Thoughts on Pat McLean
ReplyDeleteI had the good fortune to work with Pat from the end of 1981 until she retired in 2004. And we remained friends thereafter.
She had a varied and interesting career: she worked with then pioneer Dr. A. Jean Ayres, PhD, OTR, FAOTA, (an occupational therapist and psychologist, who was the first researcher clinician from the therapy fields to: define the impact of sensory processing on learning, emotions and behavior; design and standardize assessments that provide a comprehensive understanding of sensory integrative function and dysfunction. Pat also worked early in the "Head Start Program," at Easter Seals, and other pediatric programs. In addition; she made her mark at world renowned Rancho Los Amigos Rehabilitation Center working with Quadriplegic patients and created training videos to assist them attaining independence, she also work in New York in the Rehab arena, as well as, the Simi Valley Hospital Rehabilitation Unit.
Pat was always a trailblazer, in a quiet sort of way!! She continuously sought out information through classes, journals, reading, discussion groups and online. She was the first person I knew who embraced the use of the home computers. She was an amazing photographer, an adventurer in her many travels about the world, and a lover of wild life and animals. She was a gentle spirit, who loved the world around her.
I will miss her sharing what the latest project or activity was that she had going, and what was planned next. I admired the fact that Pat lived life to the fullest!!!