Patricia "Pat" Louise Wilson, 89, who spent a lifetime coaching, scouting, and keeping score on ballfields, passed peacefully in the early morning hours of Thursday, April 23, 2026, at her daughter Patti's home in Cartersville, Georgia.

Born April 7, 1937, in Chicago, Illinois, to devout Irish Catholic parents, Pat grew up an Army brat, moving frequently throughout her childhood. A stretch in postwar Germany took her across Europe as a girl, including an audience with Pope Pius XII in Rome. Those early years taught her that home is something you carry with you, a belief she passed on to her children.

She married Jack Wilson on October 10, 1959, after he proposed on their third date. Not long after they met, Jack once asked a friend where he might find her. "Patsy's home watching a baseball game," the friend told him, and then Jack was smitten. On their wedding day, the newlyweds spent the afternoon watching baseball on television. They made Miami, Florida, their home for most of their 55 years together before moving to the Atlanta area in 2013.

Being a mother was her job. Coaching was her passion.

As soon as her daughter Patti was old enough to swing a bat, Pat coached her softball team. When her sons Jimmy and John came along, she added baseball. Long after her own children had aged out of youth leagues, she kept coaching, leading teams for more than thirty years and serving as historian of the Howard Palmetto Khoury League. She knew every kid on every field.

Some of those kids went on to play professionally, including Alex Fernandez and Greg Lovelady. Ron Fraser and Skip Bertman, then leading the Miami Hurricanes program, called Pat for her read on local players. She knew the talent better than anyone.

In 2022, at the age of 85, she traveled to Omaha with her son John and daughter-in-law Audra for the College World Series. She attended every game, day and night, kept a scorebook for each one, and worked her way through peanuts, ice cream, and every ballpark staple. It was a bucket list trip for a woman who never stopped loving the game.

Pat was an athlete all her life. She played basketball at the University of Kentucky, competed in amateur jai-alai, and bowled alongside Paula Carter and other nationally ranked pros. She held a spot on the Miami Herald's top ten bowlers list into her seventies. She could have turned pro. She chose to be a mother instead.

She also spent a lifetime sewing. For her family and charities, she lovingly made bags, purses, shirts, and quilts by hand. She won two nationally recognized awards, and one of her quilts is on permanent display at the HistoryMiami Museum.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Jack Wilson; her daughter, Katherine Wilson; her son, Jimmy Wilson; her grandson, Uriah White-Wilson; and her brothers, Michael "Mike" McShane and Patrick McShane.

She is survived by her sister, Margaret "Peggy" McShane; her children, Patricia "Patti" Wilson, and John Wilson (Audra Kearney); and her grandchildren, Katie Wilson, Kristie Wilson, and Moose "Lakota" White-Wilson.

A memorial mass will be held for Pat at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Cartersville, GA, on May 19th at 11 AM, followed by a reception.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Pitch In For Baseball & Softball (pifbs.org) whose work puts gloves, bats, and cleats in the hands of kids who would not otherwise get to play the game Pat spent thirty years coaching. The donation form includes an "In memory of" option so gifts can be directed in her name.

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