Patricia "Pat" Alligood, age 85, passed away April 15, 2026. Pat was the firstborn child of Thomas and Phyllis Burriesci (Muñoz), and the undisputed favorite sister of her three younger brothers. She leaves behind a family she adored and was enormously proud of.

She also leaves behind a lot of stuff her family has no idea what to do with.

If you are in the market for an extensive collection of bejeweled trinket boxes, an obsessively coordinated seasonal table setting collection spanning every month and major holiday from a woman who never entertained, and enough Spanish learning materials to personally tutor all of San Jose, the family asks for an appropriate period of mourning before reaching out. Tomorrow is fine.

Pat was world-renowned for her lack of patience, her zero-filter opinion delivery, and an almost gifted ability to tell it exactly like it was. She liked you or she didn't. There was no middle ground and absolutely no sugarcoating. Everyone always knew where they stood with Pat, which, when you think about it, is a rare and underrated quality.

A Willow Glen High School graduate (class of 1959) and a lifelong alumna of the School of Hard Knocks. Polio as a child. Breast cancer. Twice. She overcame both with the same grit she brought to everything else in her life. It should also be noted, with great love and only a little side-eye, that these hardships were known to be deployed strategically when faced with something she didn't particularly want to do. The family could always tell the difference. Mostly.

What she was, above all else, was hysterically funny. Genuine to a fault. More generous than she let on. Tenderhearted underneath all of it. And possessed of a vocabulary, particularly the four-letter variety, that would make a longshoreman blush. She wielded those words with the same enthusiasm she brought to movies, which was considerable.

She found joy in the magic of the silver screen. The popcorn. The previews. The moment the lights went down. She considered herself an unofficial voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

For over 40 years, Pat built a fulfilling career in secretarial and administrative roles with the County of Santa Clara, General Electric, IBM, and the Morgan Hill Unified School District. She was a motivated self-starter, fiercely dependable, and possessed of a work ethic beyond reproach. She thrived in fast-paced environments and known to inject exactly the right amount of fear into her coworkers. They were better for it.

In the kitchen, Pat was a master, a claim her granddaughter disputed on the grounds that cooking requires a pot, a pan, and a stove. Her Gino's pizza roll hors d’oeuvres were legendary, and her meatloaf recipe will not be shared.

She will be deeply, irreplaceably missed.

Pat is survived by her son Rod of San Jose (Chris), grandchildren Bella and Christina, and her brother Tom of Rockwall, Texas, along with many family and friends whose lives were funnier and more colorful for having known her. She was preceded in death by her parents and brothers Richard and Eddie.

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