PATRICIA JANE YOUNG ERWIN

Patricia Jane Young Erwin died at her home on October 16, 2007, from complications of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. She will be remembered for her devotion to her family and friends and for her many acts of kindness, charity and sense of humor. Laughter came easy for her and those around her and not a day passed without her performing a kind act for another person. Pat was born on July 18, 1924 in Chicago, IL to Dr. Charles E. Young and Renew Elizabeth (Minshall) Young. In 1930 the family moved to Hartford, MI where Pat lived until her 1943 graduation from Hartford High School. A graduate of Argubright Business College of Battle Creek, MI, she worked for Clarage Fan Company in Kalamazoo, MO during WWII. At her parents' home in Hartford, MI on April 15, 1946, she married her high school sweetheart and returning Marine John Winton Erwin of Keeler, MI. They resided at Houghton, MI while John completed his Bachelor of Science in Engineering Physics from Michigan Technological University in 1949. After graduation, they moved to Golden, CO where John earned a Masters in Geophysics from the Colorado School of Mines. With two small sons, they moved back to Michigan where John worked for Dow Chemical in Midland. In 1954, after adding another son and a new daughter to the family, they drove across the country to Salt Lake City with the three little boys in the backseat of the car and their new baby sister along for the ride in a laundry basket. A fifth child joined the family and in 1964, they moved further west to Reno with their children when John became Professor of Geophysics at the University of Nevada, Reno. He was also affiliated with the Nevada Bureau of Mines. Pat was proud of her service as a member of the inaugural staff of Hug High School when it opened in 1968. As administrators of the school library, Pat and her late friend Sally Bonham guided a generation of students. Pat retired from the Washoe County School District in 1985. John retired from UNR in 1986. Pat and John spent many years traveling to all of the states but Hawaii while visiting relatives, searching through courthouse records for genealogical information, and attending the graduations and weddings of their grandchildren. In Salt Lake City, Pat was active with Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Holladay Community Church and clerked at the University of Utah Law Library. In Reno, Pat worked at the UNR Agriculture Library before joining the staff at Hug High School. She was a Life member in the Benevolence Chapter #265 OES, Lawrence, MI., of the Van Buren County Historical Society, Hartford, MI., and of the Van Buren Regional Genealogical Society, Decatur, MI. She was a member of St. John's Presbyterian Church and First Congregational Church in Reno, National Federation of Republican Women, Nevada Federation of Republican Women, 20th Century Club, First Families of Morrow Co, Ohio, a former member of Morrow County Historical Society, Ohio, the Nevada State Genealogy Society, Nevada Sagebrush Chapter of the NSDAR, the Thomas Holcomb Chapter of the National Society Colonial Dames XVII Century, the Sons & Daughters of the Pilgrims, The John Howland, William Brewster Societies & Nevada Branch of The General Society of the Mayflower Descendants. Pat was descended from four Mayflower families and recently became a member of the Jamestown Society. Pat is loved and survived by her husband of 61 years, John Winton Erwin and their children, James Winton Erwin of Reno and his children, Jeffrey Winton (Dawn) Erwin, Patrick James (Nikki) Erwin with great-grandson Hunter James; Camille Alexandra Erwin and Elizabeth Nicole (Brian W.) Johansen, of Nampa, ID with great-grandchildren Makayla Nicole; Trenton William and Tate Winton Johansen; son, Thomas Patric and (Molly Spencer) Erwin and his son, Philip Robert Erwin of Las Vegas, NV and Molly's children, Paul Kerschen of Berkeley, CA and Ann Kerschen, Tucson, AZ; son, John Alexander (Sheryl “Sherri“ McConnell) Erwin of Sparks and their children, Rebecca Ann (Jesse) Adams with great-grandson Aidan James, Marie Alice (Shawn D.) Lear and great-grandson Jordan Nathan Lear, Scott Andrew Erwin of San Clemente, CA and Kathryn Alise Erwin of Reno; daughter, Susan Marie Erwin (Brian Joseph) Buckley, and their children, Anne Elizabeth, Katherine Mary, and John Michael Buckley of Las Vegas, NV; and, daughter, Debra Ann Erwin (Pete L.) Padgett, of Reno, NV and their children, Melissa Ann Padgett of San Diego, CA and David Christopher Padgett of Louisville, KY. She very much loved her former daughters-in-law, Cheryl L. Ehrke of Reno, NV and Michelle F. Hall of Nampa, ID and her dear friend and “other daughter" Stephanie Hughes of Kauai, HI. Pat and her family are very grateful to all of her caregivers from Homewatch, Circle of Life Hospice, and The Seasons for their loving care and friendships. In lieu of flowers, please send a gift to ALS of Nevada, 6370 W. Flamingo #3, Las Vegas, NV 89103 or to the Reno Family History Center, 1075 Maplewood Drive, Reno, NV 89509 in the name of the Nevada Sagebrush Chapter, NSDAR, Reno, NV. A memorial service will be held Saturday, October 20, 2007 at 3:30 p.m. at Mountain View Mortuary, 425 Stoker Ave., Reno, NV. Internment at Mountain View Cemetery will be private. “Mothers and Grandmothers hold our tiny hands for just a little while, but our hearts forever"