Patti Lee Hart, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, friend, and community member, passed away on October 1, 2025, at Fieldstone Memory Care in Silverdale, Washington, after a courageous journey with Alzheimer’s disease. She was 78.

Early Life and Education

Patti was born on April 12, 1947, in Flint, Michigan, to Robert and Audrey Smith. She was raised alongside her older sister, Sharon Sue Snell, in a close-knit family deeply rooted in their community. Her father owned a hardware store, and Patti often spoke with pride about her family’s role in serving the people of Flint. She was not especially athletic and loved to laugh about breaking her leg as a child while attempting to leap over a potted plant on the front steps, a story she retold with her trademark humor and memorable laugh.

She formed lifelong friendships early on, especially with Jane Hanna and Sally Watson, with whom she remained close well into adulthood. Family was always central to her life. She adored her aunts and uncles George and Lucille, Max and Terry, and Carolyn and Fred, and she treasured time spent with her many cousins throughout her childhood and into her seventies.

Patti graduated from Southwestern Community High School in Flint in 1965. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Education from Eastern Michigan University in 1970, with a minor in home economics. She later pursued her love of writing and communication, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from California State University, Long Beach, in 1978.

Marriage and Family

Patti married Neil Hart in 1970 in Grand Blanc, Michigan. As a Navy wife, she embraced a life of frequent moves with grace and enthusiasm, raising her children while creating warm, welcoming homes across the country. Their years together included Kodiak, Alaska; Newport, Rhode Island; San Diego and Monterey, California; Marlton, New Jersey; Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania; and ultimately Bremerton, Washington. Patti loved to say that wherever they landed, she quickly made a home and introduced herself to neighbors by hosting coffee with “Patti and Sara Lee,” a small gesture that perfectly captured her warmth, humor, and hospitality. Patti and Neil divorced in 1997.

In 2000, Patti married Frank Seehale in Poulsbo, Washington. She loved Frank deeply and called him the love of her life. Though she chose to keep her last name, she playfully combined their names and referred to them as the Seeharts. In a Christmas family newsletter, Patti captured their relationship with her signature wit: “After four years of total control of the remote, I married Frank Seehale, the love of my life. Who would have thought that in my twilight years I’d find happiness with a Mozart-loving farmer? Me who finds solace not in music, art, or nature but at Nordstrom’s semi-annual shoe sale. I am blessed.”

After their marriage, Patti and Frank renovated his 100-year-old farmhouse, a project she relished. She loved collaborating with their architect and thoughtfully shaping what became her dream home. Her claim to fame was creating storage wherever possible, including beneath the staircases. These clever spaces became legendary hiding spots during games of hide-and-seek and are a lasting symbol of Patti’s creativity, practicality, and joy in making a house a home.

Together, she and Frank built a life filled with travel, family gatherings, and deep companionship. They loved exploring Boston, Virginia, California, Oregon, Yellowstone, England, and Paris, and they especially cherished family vacations to Las Vegas, Napa, and Palm Springs with their children and grandchildren.

Career and Professional Life

Patti’s professional life reflected her intelligence, creativity, and genuine love of people. Early on, she worked as a clerk in a ladies clothing store in Flint, an experience she later recalled fondly. After college, she taught high school in Kodiak, Alaska, and worked in communications at Project Concern in San Diego.

After the birth of her daughter Alex in 1981 and her son Andy in 1984, Patti stepped away from full-time work to focus on raising her family, a role she embraced wholeheartedly. As her children grew, she gradually returned to work through freelance writing, teaching business writing in adult education programs in two New Jersey school districts, and serving as fashion editor at Monterey Peninsula College within the Home Economics department. After moving to Bremerton in 1990, she worked as a substitute teacher several days a week, often at the same school her children attended. In 1991, she began teaching English and reading part time to sailors through Central Texas College and the U.S. Navy, while also writing for the Public Affairs Department of the local hospital.

In 1992, Patti joined Harrison Hospital in Publications, where she would spend the next 18 years. She ultimately served as Director of Marketing and Communications for the final five years of her tenure. Patti often said she never had a bad day at work and genuinely looked forward to going each morning. She retired in 2009 following a large organizational downsizing, closing a career she deeply loved and in which she was widely respected.

Creativity, Hobbies, and Social Life

Creativity and connection were constant threads throughout Patti’s life. She was an exceptionally talented home decorator and delighted in making her home beautiful, especially during the Christmas season. She lovingly made elaborate Halloween costumes for her children and later turned her artistic talents to homemade greeting cards, which she sent to friends and family around the country and sold in the Harrison Hospital gift shop. Though she claimed she disliked cooking, she was a wonderful cook and a gracious host who made everyone feel welcome at her table.

Patti loved games of all kinds, including Yahtzee, Tripoley, the card game Golf, Mexican Train dominoes, and Blokus. She grew up golfing with her parents at the Davison Country Club and continued to play throughout her life. She maintained a vibrant social life with a close-knit group from the Kitsap Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, a creative card-making group through Stampin’ Up, and her Bunco group. Known affectionately as Party Lee, she was often the life of the party, bringing laughter, warmth, and just the right amount of sarcasm wherever she went.

Her faith and values were deeply rooted in Unitarian Universalism, and she lived the principles she cherished, especially the belief in the inherent worth and dignity of every person. She sang in the choir at Kitsap Unitarian Universalist Fellowship for many years, continuing until she entered memory care. Patti was a proud liberal Democrat who deeply admired President Barack Obama and was a passionate advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights.

Volunteerism and Community Involvement

Patti gave generously of her time and resources. She was a devoted volunteer and donor to the Kitsap County Food Bank, consistently picking up donations during routine grocery trips and delivering them on her way home. She coordinated food drives to support food-insecure children through local elementary schools. After Alex was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age six, she became an active fundraiser for diabetes research and served on the board of the American Diabetes Association. Patti was also deeply involved in her children’s schools, serving as a room parent and on the PTA board. She volunteered as a CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocate, and served on the board of CAPRI, supporting access to pulmonary rehabilitation.

Parenting and Grandparenting

Patti loved being a mother. She listened without judgment and offered thoughtful advice when it was needed. She treated Alex and Andy as whole people rather than simply as children, valuing their thoughts, opinions, and reasoning. She was open to conversation and genuinely willing to reconsider, a quality they remember clearly from the time she initially said no to a trampoline. Instead of shutting the discussion down, she reconsidered after Alex and Andy worked together to come up with 20 reasons why they should have one, printing them out and taping them throughout the kitchen. Patti was so impressed by their logic and teamwork that she ultimately said yes.

She was a wonderful and engaged sports mom to Andy, never missing a game and taking genuine joy in watching him play, especially travel soccer. The drives to and from games became a space for some of their best conversations, full of reflection and connection that deepened as Andy reached adulthood. With Alex, Patti shared a love of romantic comedies, pedicures, and shopping, simple pleasures that brought them close. Time spent together always felt easy and meaningful. Losing that love, and losing their biggest cheerleader, has been profoundly difficult. Patti’s presence as a mother shaped who they are, and her love remains a steady part of them still.

As much as she loved being a mom, Patti’s greatest joy was being a grandmother. Known lovingly as Grandma Party, she was fully engaged and endlessly playful with her grandsons Will and Calvin. She always chose participation over observation, and could be found building Lego sets, climbing on the playground at the Silverdale Waterfront Park, gleefully sliding down the inflatable slides at Ahoy Kitsap Playland, eating cake pops from Starbucks, and walking through Target with the boys looking for the next fun activity to do at home.

Family and Survivors

Patti is survived by her husband, Frank Seehale; her daughter, Alex Bente, and her husband, Rick Bente; her son, Andy Hart, and his fiancée, Bekka Gunderson; her stepdaughter, Dana Seehale, and her husband, Andy Croteau; her stepson, Erik Seehale, and his spouse, Echo Norris; and her grandsons, Will Bente (13) and Calvin Hart (10).

She is further survived by her ex-husband, Neil Hart, and his wife, Karen Hart; her brothers-in-law, Bob Snell, Gary Hart and his wife, Pat, and Keith Brewer and his wife, Andrea; her nephew, Jeff Snell, and his ex-wife, Julie, and their children, Emily, Jackson, and Olivia; her nieces, Katie Shanahan and her husband, Brendan, and their children, Riley, Brady, and Megan, Angela Todd and her husband, Tony, and their children, Haley and Zack, and Ashley Brewer; along with many extended family members and dear friends.

She was preceded in death by her mother, Audrey Smith (1999); her sister-in-law, June Hart (2000); her father, Bob Smith (2001); and her sister, Sharon Sue Snell (2004).

Service

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 14, at 2:00 p.m. at Kitsap Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, located at 4418 Perry Avenue NE in Bremerton, Washington.

Closing

Patti had a rare gift for making people feel instantly welcome and deeply seen. Whether through long conversations, heartfelt advice, or her thoughtful handmade cards, she offered comfort, encouragement, and laughter in equal measure. Her home was full of warmth, food, music, and open doors, where children, teenagers, friends, and family alike felt cared for and accepted. She had a laugh so infectious it filled any room, and her kindness, humor, and compassion touched countless lives.

Patti loved poetry, especially the work of Emily Dickinson. One of her favorite poems captures the spirit that guided her life and the care she so freely gave to others:

If I can stop one heart from breaking,

I shall not live in vain;

If I can ease one life the aching,

Or cool one pain,

Or help one fainting robin

Unto his nest again,

I shall not live in vain.

Patti lived fully, loved fiercely, and laughed often, leaving the world kinder than she found it. She was an incredible wife, mother, and grandmother, a generous friend, and an empathetic soul whose laugh could light up a room. Her legacy lives on in the countless lives she touched and the values she modeled. She was, simply and profoundly, a bright light who will be deeply missed.

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