Obituary for Patricia Ann "Patty" Pokky (McAleese)
Patricia Ann Pokky (McAleese) passed away on March 2, 2020. Born on August 27, 1938, in Akron, Ohio, she was the daughter of Patrick Leo and Hazel (Dishon) McAleese.
She attended Saint Paul’s Elementary School and graduated from Saint Vincent High School, class of ’56. She attended the University of Akron and graduated in 1960 with a degree in elementary education and was a member of Phi Mu Sorority of which she was vice president her senior year. She taught thirty-two years in Akron Public Schools at Lincoln, Barrett, and Firestone Park and retired in 1992.
Patty was a member of Saint Paul’s Roman Catholic Church all of her life having been baptized, educated and married there. Having been a long time member of the church Ladies’ Guild, she was Vice President and Harness Race Chairman of the Friends of Akron Children’s Hospital in 2010. She enjoyed a very active tenure with the Friends for many years. Patty was proud of her Irish heritage and was a member of the Ladies’ Ancient Order of Hibernians since 1982 and served on the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade Committee for many years. As a police officer’s daughter, she was a member of the Akron Fraternal Order of Police Auxiliary and served as chaplain and trustee. She was also Vice President of Philanthropy of the Greater Akron Area Phi Mu Sorority Alumnae, and a member of Summit County Retired Teachers’ Association.
Never having been further west than Indiana, she and her best friend Peggy Qualters Gardner drove to California in a convertible with no air conditioning in 1964. Patty and her son Matthew did extensive traveling throughout Europe with several visits to Ireland, where they visited relatives. She was always a fan of the arts: music, art, dancing, movies, drawing.
Patty was a particularly loving wife and mother and good to everyone who knew her. She was a nurturer and caring and compassionate to her family and to those young people who were fortunate enough to be her students. She was strong and brave and will be so sadly missed by all her family and friends.
She and her sister Eileen Dube had a wonderful childhood having been raised in the shadow of St. Paul’s Church in Firestone Park by the most loving parents in the world. Every summer for 21 years the extended family and friends enjoyed a two-week fishing trip at Rice Lake in Canada where Patty developed a love of fishing.
Preceded in death by her parents, brothers Francis and Tommy, husband James, she is survived by her very loving and attentive son Matthew, who has been her faithful caretaker throughout her eight year ordeal with Parkinson’s Disease, sister and brother-in-law Eileen and Darrell Dube and nephew Brent Dube (Robin), along with cousins Corrine Sipe, Nancy Cover, Jeannie Royer, Tim McMullen, Barbara Gondorchin, and many more. She also leaves behind good friends Alice Testa and Rita Keenan.
Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, March 6 at 10:00 a.m.at St. Paul’s Catholic Church, 1580 Brown St, Akron, OH 44301 with Fr. Matthew Pfeifer officiating. Friends may call from 5:00 to 8:00pm on Thursday March 5th at the Dunn-Quigey Funeral Home, 811 Grant St., Akron, OH 44311.
She attended Saint Paul’s Elementary School and graduated from Saint Vincent High School, class of ’56. She attended the University of Akron and graduated in 1960 with a degree in elementary education and was a member of Phi Mu Sorority of which she was vice president her senior year. She taught thirty-two years in Akron Public Schools at Lincoln, Barrett, and Firestone Park and retired in 1992.
Patty was a member of Saint Paul’s Roman Catholic Church all of her life having been baptized, educated and married there. Having been a long time member of the church Ladies’ Guild, she was Vice President and Harness Race Chairman of the Friends of Akron Children’s Hospital in 2010. She enjoyed a very active tenure with the Friends for many years. Patty was proud of her Irish heritage and was a member of the Ladies’ Ancient Order of Hibernians since 1982 and served on the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade Committee for many years. As a police officer’s daughter, she was a member of the Akron Fraternal Order of Police Auxiliary and served as chaplain and trustee. She was also Vice President of Philanthropy of the Greater Akron Area Phi Mu Sorority Alumnae, and a member of Summit County Retired Teachers’ Association.
Never having been further west than Indiana, she and her best friend Peggy Qualters Gardner drove to California in a convertible with no air conditioning in 1964. Patty and her son Matthew did extensive traveling throughout Europe with several visits to Ireland, where they visited relatives. She was always a fan of the arts: music, art, dancing, movies, drawing.
Patty was a particularly loving wife and mother and good to everyone who knew her. She was a nurturer and caring and compassionate to her family and to those young people who were fortunate enough to be her students. She was strong and brave and will be so sadly missed by all her family and friends.
She and her sister Eileen Dube had a wonderful childhood having been raised in the shadow of St. Paul’s Church in Firestone Park by the most loving parents in the world. Every summer for 21 years the extended family and friends enjoyed a two-week fishing trip at Rice Lake in Canada where Patty developed a love of fishing.
Preceded in death by her parents, brothers Francis and Tommy, husband James, she is survived by her very loving and attentive son Matthew, who has been her faithful caretaker throughout her eight year ordeal with Parkinson’s Disease, sister and brother-in-law Eileen and Darrell Dube and nephew Brent Dube (Robin), along with cousins Corrine Sipe, Nancy Cover, Jeannie Royer, Tim McMullen, Barbara Gondorchin, and many more. She also leaves behind good friends Alice Testa and Rita Keenan.
Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, March 6 at 10:00 a.m.at St. Paul’s Catholic Church, 1580 Brown St, Akron, OH 44301 with Fr. Matthew Pfeifer officiating. Friends may call from 5:00 to 8:00pm on Thursday March 5th at the Dunn-Quigey Funeral Home, 811 Grant St., Akron, OH 44311.