Patricia M. (McKanna) Ratigan, 96, of East Greenwich, passed away peacefully on Feb. 12. She was the beloved wife of the late William T. Ratigan, to whom she was married for 55 years. She is survived by her daughter Mary Ratigan Rossetti (Tom), and sons John (Robin), Gerard (Laurie), Peter (Kara), Daniel (Laura); 15 grandchildren; 5 great-grandchildren; sister in law Evelyn McKanna, and many nieces and nephews. She was the daughter of the late Dr. Harry F. McKanna and Jeannette (Heimbuecher) McKanna, and sister of the late Jeannette Freeman, Harry McKanna, George McKanna, and Ross McKanna.

Pat, an alumnus of West Warwick High School, graduated with a B.A. in English from Pembroke College ‘45 (Brown University), and received her Masters from Radcliffe College ‘47 (Harvard University). She worked as an accountant for Price Waterhouse after a summer crash course at Connecticut College to help out during the war: “We ladies were asked to fill the men’s jobs in NYC while they were away at war, with the understanding that when they returned they would take up their positions again.” She taught English at the University of Idaho and then worked for a newspaper in Denver where she met Bill. They married in RI and lived in White Plains, NY and Ramsey, NJ before settling in East Greenwich. Pat spent the early years of her marriage at home raising her 5 children. She later worked at the East Greenwich Pendulum as an editor, and at Typesetting Services in Providence, where she specialized in proofreading German and French language articles.

Reading, knitting, and playing bridge were her favorite pastimes, and each child and grandchild was the recipient of sweaters or blankets that she lovingly knitted over her lifetime. She enjoyed taking her family to her father’s beach house on Ninigret Pond in Charlestown each summer, where they went barefoot, learned to play bridge, sail, swim, and quahog. She and Bill later would provide the same experience for their grandchildren. In the winter, Pat and Bill would load the family up and go on day trips to Waterville Valley, where they would stake out a table in the lodge while the kids skied. She was a chocolate chip cookie maker extraordinaire, and a devoted wife, mother and Nanna, and by example she instilled in her family the joy of reading.

Respectfully, funeral services will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Saint Elizabeth Community, 2364 Post Road, Suite 100, Warwick, RI, 02886 or St. Francis de Sales Church, 381 School St., North Kingstown. Pat’s family is very grateful to her caregivers.