It is with great sadness that we share that Patricia “Nanny” Leposa passed away on December 30, 2023 peacefully, surrounded by her family, after a short illness. She was born in Rutland, Vermont on April 9, 1934 to Walter and Catherine Cendroski. She was 89 years old.

Pat enjoyed traveling and the occasional trip to the casino. Most especially she loved people and truly treasured her family and the many friendships that enriched her life over the years. She was a parishioner at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Milltown, New Jersey, and later in her life at St Matthias Catholic Church in Somerset, New Jersey. 

She touched countless lives through her service including opening her home to a refugee Vietnamese family, Cursillo Christian retreats, Kairos prison ministries, and Mount Saint Mary House of Prayer in Watchung, New Jersey where she was the first retreatant! She was most fulfilled through her 38 years as a Mercy Associate with the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas and the first lay person to be a member of the NJ Associate Leadership Team. She was trained as a Spiritual Director and provided comfort and support by helping people see God working in their lives.

Pat enjoyed many styles of self-expression over the years including painting and music and contributed to a CD of spiritual songs called Tender Mercy  to raise funds for Mercy ministries in New Jersey.  She began writing poetry as a reflection of the people and experiences of her life. She shared her gifts of spirituality and poetry through retreats and other events including poetry readings. Many of her closest friends have books of her poetry to remember her by. She stayed in touch with her friends and family as a reluctant user of email and text, but she always preferred a hand-made card that she would personally draw to reflect the occasion. They were her expressions of the love and appreciation she felt for the many special people in her life.

Pat also expressed herself through her collection of hats. She had one for every occasion, including several with which she proudly displayed her love of her New York Yankees. Those close to her and strangers alike, delighted in the colorful and interesting hats that she wore everywhere.

Nanny is survived by her sister Rosemarie "Dee" Russo, daughter Maryanne Craft (husband Patrick Craft), her son John Leposa (wife Tammy Leposa), her grandchildren Dylan Craft, Zachary Melvin, Zachary Leposa, Taylor Leposa, Caitlin Craft, Grant Melvin and Jack Craft, and her great-granddaughter Addy Craft. Her husband of 50 years, Ernest “Poppy” Leposa passed away in 2009.

Her ‘worldly’ family and friends will miss her terribly, but we are comforted by the thought that she is with God and once again with so many of the souls she touched in her long and rich life.

Pat will return to her home in New Jersey where we will celebrate her life with services being planned for this Spring (details to be announced) before she is reunited with her husband at the Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery  in Wrightstown, New Jersey.

If you would like to make a donation in the name of Patricia Leposa, the family suggests you consider Mount Saint Mary House of Prayer in Watchung, New Jersey.

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