With great sadness, we announce the recent passing of Patricia (Buckley) Saunders. Pat was just short of her 90th birthday and had a long beautiful life. She passed away with her children at her side.
She is survived by son, Randy Buckley of Modesto and daughter Alana Buckley Reynolds of Grover Beach CA, many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and stepdaughter Toni Robison of Maryland.
She was preceded in death, by her loving parents Pat & Eva McCarty, Her Husband Bob Saunders, stepdaughter Sandy Rowe, and ex-husband Alan Buckley.
Pat was raised in Redding CA, she then moved to San Francisco to attend Stanford, and eventually settled in Modesto in 1959! She attended Chico State, then nursing school at Stanford, where she met and married Alan Buckley, they had two children Randy and Alana, they then moved to Modesto to raise their family.
Pat enjoyed a wonderful long career as an Operating Room Registered Nurse. Pat promoted to Supervisor of the Operating Room at Doctors Hospital and then she later worked at Manteca Hospital. She loved being a nurse and helping people. While working at Doctor’s hospital, she met Bob Saunders, they married and had 35 years amazing years together.
Pat was lead Yell leader at Stanford. A fun memory was In the 60’s she won a Grocery Shopping spree from Pepsi, and for 5 minutes raced through Lucky’s Grocery in McHenry Village grabbing everything on her list. There was no shopping cart allowed, she forgot the Pepsi so they added that at the end. Randy and Alana loved watching the video backward as she put the food away, in reverse!
Pat absolutely loved her volunteer work and participating in local charities. She volunteered at McHenry Museum; Friends of Hospice, Past President of American Heart Association of CA, and a member of the Operating Room Nurses Association.
She LOVED her charity work throughout the past 20+ years with Friends of Hospice and was very involved in helping complete the Alexander Cohen Hospice House in Hughson where she passed away. She worked every fall filling the Friends of Hospice Memorial Christmas Tree with lights! She was president of the Community Hospice Board.
Pat had many hobbies; playing Bridge, water-skiing, snow skiing and camping in Yosemite. She enjoyed traveling to Reno with Bob to play Blackjack. She held an annual Christmas Party for friends and neighbors. She absolutely loved to travel; her favorite was a cruise through the Panama Canal and up the East Coast; also Alaska, Greece, and Mexico.
There will be a private Celebration of Life, please contact family for details. Contributions in memory of Pat Saunders may be made to: Friends of Hospice, in C/O Community Hospice 4368 Spyres Way, Modesto CA 95356.
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