GERTJEJANSEN, Patricia (Pat)

Vistoso Funeral Home, Oro Valley, Arizona Pat Gertjejansen January 8, 1930 - October 1, 2013 Patricia "Pat" Gertjejansen passed away at home on Tues Oct 1, 2013. She was born Jan 8, 1930 in Berwyn, IL to Fred and Connie Grove. She was the oldest child with a younger sister and 2 younger brothers. She went to Riverside Brookfield High School and graduated in 1948. Before heading to college she worked at the Brookfield Zoo, a job she loved. She went to college at Western Illinois University in Macomb, iL where she completed her degree in four years in music and education. She married her 1st husband in 1953 and had 2 children, Debbie and Bill. She was teaching first grade and when the marriage failed she moved to Long Beach, CA in 1965. She later moved to Chino Valley, AZ with her then husband Harold "Hal" Gertjejansen in 1975. They lived in Chino Valley and delivered the Prescott Courier for years. She also worked at Prescott Downs at the mutuel window for many years, a job she loved and everyone called her "Gerty". She also continued teaching and being very active in the church. When her husband died in 1989 she moved to Tucson to be closer to her daughter and grandson. She continued teaching and working at Prescott Downs in the summer time and again being very involved in the church and she loved playing the handbells. Her daughter works for American Airlines and she was able to see the world and she loved traveling. She loved baseball and went to as many baseball games as possible. Later on when she started having trouble walking she got a scooter and loved the freedom it gave her while going to the ball park on her own. She is preceded in death by her father, Fred Grove, her mother, Connie Grove, sister Dorothy Cohn and her husband, Hal Gertjejansen. She is survived by her brothers Rich and Jim, her daughter, Debbie, her son, Bill, her grandsons, Delvin and Brian and grand daughter Ariana, her great granddaughter and her nieces and nephews. She died peacefully at home with the people she loved after a long bout battling Alzheimer's.