Patricia A Reichenbacher

Patricia (Pat) Ann Reichenbacher, age 86, of Appleton WI, died Thursday morning, January 23, 2025 at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton. She was born February 27, 1938 in Chicago Heights, IL, the first child of Harold and Mary (Kelly) McGrath. Pat grew up on the northwest side of Chicago with her parents and four siblings. She enjoyed being part of a Chicago-Irish family and loved summers at their lake home on Post Lake in northern Wisconsin. Pat and her siblings loved to challenge one another to swim across the lake and back. Evening fun at the lake meant spending time at the roller rink. Pat’s education was guided by Catholic priests and nuns at Immaculate Conception (Norwood Park, Chicago), St. Patrick Academy (Des Plaines, IL), and the College of St. Teresa (Winona, MN) where she earned a B.S.N. Later in life, Pat earned her M.S.N. degree at Loyola University’s School of Nursing in Chicago. After college Pat was hired as a Staff Nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison, WI. There she accepted her calling as a teacher and began teaching student nurses at the hospital. She went on to teach student nurses in Madison, Chicago, Palatine, IL, and La Crosse, WI. At the College of St. Teresa, Pat dated Paul Reichenbacher who was studying chemistry at St. Mary’s College (Winona, MN). Paul proposed to Pat while he was a graduate student at Penn State, and they married August 31, 1963. Pat moved with Paul to State College, PA and began working as a Public Health Nurse in Centre County, PA. She lovingly cared for Amish farmers, coal miners, and others. In Pennsylvania, their first son, William, was born in 1965. The small family moved to and flourished in Elk Grove Village, IL in 1967. Sons Mark, Tom, and David were born in 1968, 1970, and 1976. Pat and Paul purchased their own lake home on Post Lake during this time. Pat’s love for Post Lake was instilled in her sons. Time with family, sailing, fishing, and waterskiing made each summer memorable. This summer (2025) the McGrath-Reichenbacher family will celebrate 100 years at Post Lake. The first lake home was originally established by Pat’s grandparents, Tom and Julia Kelly. La Crescent, MN became the family’s main home in 1976. In La Crescent Pat: provided her sons and husband delicious meals and amazing desserts (cherry pies!), drove her cars up and down the long, steep, often ice-covered driveway, attended thousands of hockey games, served on the La Crescent Public School Board, and taught future nurses at Western Wisconsin Technical College in La Crosse. Pat retired in 2001, and by 2003 the two empty nesters became snowbirds, spending summers at Post Lake and winters in Phoenix, AZ. Grandchildren and travel made her smile for the next twenty years. In 2021 when Pat’s health required professional care, Pat moved into Eagle Court Memory Care in Appleton, WI with Paul next door in Eagle Point Senior Living. Pat is survived by her husband of Appleton, WI and Post Lake, WI; four sons: William (Tracy) Reichenbacher of Madison WI, Mark (Lisa) Reichenbacher of Ann Arbor, MI, Thomas (Tammy) Reichenbacher of La Crosse, WI, and David (Kaia) Reichenbacher of Greenville, WI; ten grandchildren: Claire Reichenbacher, Alyce (Dan) Miller, Grant Reichenbacher (William & Tracy), Lauren (Torey) Greenwood and Erin (fiancée Bill Nguyen) Earley (Mark & Lisa), Maya and Ella Reichenbacher (Thomas & Tammy), Rhiannon, Elliot and Scarlett (David & Kaia) and two great-grandsons: Emmett and Cedar Greenwood (Lauren & Torey); two brothers: Philip (Donna) and Thomas (Joyce) McGrath; and brother-in-law Kelly (Carol) Heibel. In addition to her parents, Pat was preceded in death by her sisters Julie Heibel, Mary-Beth and her husband Michael O’Grady. Pat’s family especially thanks the caregivers at Eagle Court Memory Care and the nurses and doctors at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton, WI for their compassion, skill, and dedication. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Pat’s name may be made to Marmion Abbey, 850 Butterfield Road, Aurora, IL, 60502, or online at www.marmion.org/abbey. To leave condolences for Pat’s family visit www.daleidenmortuary.com.

Patricia A Reichenbacher

February 27, 1938 - January 23, 2025