Nurse, fundraiser for cancer research, volunteer who helped others
Patti Boerner. (Courtesy photo)
Patricia (Patti) Boerner, loving wife, amazing mother, doting Gigi, caring sister, kindhearted aunt, adoring Gotti, and devoted friend, died peacefully Feb. 17, 2024, at the age of 83, surrounded by love.
Patti was born in Newark, New Jersey. She grew up in Summit, New Jersey, and attended Summit High School. She attended Elmira College and earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education.
Patti worked briefly as an elementary school teacher, but her true passion was helping others in need. She volunteered with a variety of programs, including meals on wheels, prison reform, and troubled youth. Patti answered her calling for nurturing others and became a psychiatric nurse in her forties.
It was during college that Patti met Richard Boerner. They married in 1963 and after two years in Aschaffenburg, Germany, they settled in Saddle River, New Jersey, in a home they designed and built themselves. They moved to Harvard in 2007, but New Jersey always had Patti’s heart. Patti was an avid runner. She especially enjoyed running the NYC Marathon, running her last one with her daughters in 2000 to celebrate her 60th birthday.
Patti was a passionate fundraiser, participating in the Boston-to-NYC bike ride for AIDS and several Susan G. Komen three-day breast cancer walks. At the age of 75, Patti started riding the Pan Mass Challenge to raise money for Dana Farber, the hospital that had successfully helped her beat cancer twice. She rode the PMC for seven years, giving back generously to a cause about which she cared deeply.
She enjoyed playing tennis, bird-watching, reading and, most importantly, spending time with her beloved family at their Cape house. She was the epitome of a giver and a doer.
Patti was a lover. She loved her beloved husband, Richard,who predeceased her in 2022; her daughters, Leslie and Heather; her favorite sons-in-law, David Neville and Bob Lammey; her grandchildren, Meghan, Taylor, Wyatt, and Lindsey; and all of her beloved dogs. She will always be remembered as kind, strong, faithful, and generous.
A celebration of Patti’s life will be held Saturday, April 6, at 10 a.m. at St. Benedict’s Abbey in Harvard. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Patti’s honor to The Virginia Thurston Healing Garden, 145 Bolton Road, Harvard, MA 01451 or St. Benedict Abbey, 252 Still River Road, Still River, MA 01467.
