On June 16, 2025, Patricia D. Jersin (aka Dr. Pat and Pat) peacefully left behind 96 years of incredible contributions. Pat's unwavering commitment to excellence explains why those who knew her best miss her the most. She lived life to the fullest, enthusiastically practicing her Catholic faith; preparing over a thousand dedicated students to become equally outstanding educators; bettering the lives of fortunate family and friends; visiting every continent, nearly 90 countries, plus all 50 US states; crafting myriad masterpiece paintings; using her red mustang to transform everyday events into memorable indulgences.

Dr. Pat resiliently adapted to life's unpleasant setbacks. When she was 17, her father's company relocated to Colorado. She spent her senior year living with her mother's relatives in Chicago, working to help pay rent, and still graduating from St. Scholastica High School with her class's highest GPA. Pat organized class reunions for the next sixty-five years, where former teachers commended her for being one of her school's most successful graduates. In the mid-1950s, Pat returned to the University of Denver to complete her BA as she was recovering from polio paralysis, pregnant with her fourth child in six years, while coping with Colorado's cold winters and serious marital challenges. She moved to Redondo Beach, CA, and convinced "Mom & Pop Doriot" to help her purchase a home from the Godges Family, a block from St. Lawrence Martyr parish. Her widowed "Aunt Ann" generously retired from an administrative position at Ohio State University to provide childcare. This enabled Pat to teach English and drama in California at Redondo Union High School from 1956 to 1959, direct student plays, and earn an MA in Radio and Television from UCLA. Pat was offered a dream job with The Carol Burnett Show, but as a single mother with four children, she instead accepted a teaching position at Compton College.

Patricia's flexibility significantly enriched her own and others' lives. In the early 1960s, she reconciled with Raymond, which resulted in their combined strengths benefiting many. Sadly, this reunion delivered the unimaginable despair of losing their infant fifth child to a virus. Fortunately, being chosen as John Godges' godparents helped her family heal. Next, she founded the South Bay Career Women's College but closed it two years later, because keeping tuition affordable and paying instructors competitive wages made her school unprofitable. She decided to begin doctoral studies at UCLA, where she earned her doctorate. Pat soon became the first female tenure-track associate professor at the School of Secondary Education at California State University, Long Beach. During the following two decades, she rose to the rank of full professor, used her oldest daughter Connie's TWA flight privileges for world travel during summers, developed an intense devotion to her faith, completed major remodeling projects for her home, and hosted family members who needed support. She also arranged funerals for her father (William), Aunt Ann, her only sibling, Billy, her husband (Raymond), and her mother (Agnes). From the 1990s to mid-2000s, she retired, sold her home, moved to Santa Maria, enjoyed time with delightful friends, and began painting and copying masters, which fortunate recipients received.

Pat enriched many lives until her final breath. She consoled broken hearts when her oldest daughter, Connie, died in 2005. She developed severe allergies and moved to Carpinteria in 2012. In this ocean-breezy location, she made new friends, created more paintings, and supported her local parish. In 2021, her son, Mark, and his wife, Vicki, moved near her, stayed for a year, then helped her move to L.A.'s Nazareth House's assisted living facility, where Mrs. Godges had been treated so well. This became a hub where Dr. Pat's daughter, Colette, members of the Godges' family, the Wagner sisters, various Jersin relatives and friends met to celebrate life with Pat while she was still alive. She moved to Stone Creek of Littleton near her daughter, Ceci, and son-in-law, Joe, on St. Patrick's Day 2025. She spent her final months surrounded by the love she gave others. Despite having a vaccination and previous infections, she contracted shingles and, within a few days, received the Sacrament of the Sick, then peacefully slipped away in her sleep on June 16, 2025.

Dr. Pat was an exemplary educator who modeled what she taught, left her legacy of living one's values, and explained her rewarding life.

Patricia D. Jersin leaves behind surviving children Colette Marie McLaughlin (Edwin Raisanen), Cecile Huggins (Joseph), Mark G. Jersin (Vicki), Godson John Godges, her sister-in-law, Josephiene Jersin, her nieces and nephews Lorraine (Paul), Suzanne (Jim), Robert (Dijon), Tony, and Mary (Gary), granddaughters Michelle (Rod), Corinne (Aureliano), and Katherine (Kevin), three great-grandsons, Dylan (Eden), Cody (Brook), and Joaquin, step-grandchildren Stacy (Luke) and C.J. (Inga), great-great-grandchildren Greyson, Nixon, and Boone, and many other beloved family members.

Patricia D. Jersin's memorial mass will be celebrated on August 11 at 9:30 a.m. at St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church (414 E Church St, Santa Maria). Her funeral service will be followed by the Catholic Rite of Committal at St. Mary's Cemetery (730 E. Stowell Rd., Santa Maria).

Dr. Pat was generous and practical; in lieu of flowers, please consider contributing to a charitable organization that best honors the privilege of having Patricia in your life. 

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