Patricia Perlitz Williams, known as Patty, died December 14, 2018 in Rhinebeck, NY. She was born July 13, 1934 in Austin, TX, to Kathleen Norton Perlitz and Werner John Perlitz, after brothers Werner John Perlitz, Jr., and Gerald Michael Perlitz. She attended school in Austin and Port Arthur, TX, graduating from Austin High School where she was a member of the Red Jackets drill team. She went to Camp Mystic in Hunt, TX. Growing up, she treasured her relationship with her sole surviving grandparent, Martha Schumacher Perlitz, as well as cousins and close friends, keeping in touch with many for decades. She attended the University of Texas at Austin and Mary Baldwin College. At UT she joined the Delta Delta Delta sorority, where she continued to make lifelong friends.

Patty married and soon began to raise two daughters, growing close to her mother-in-law Mary Hardin Williams. Patty’s husband’s work took the family to Baton Rouge, LA; Norfolk, VA; Far Rockaway, NY; Brighton, MA; Chatham and Madison, NJ; Shawnee Mission, KS, and finally New York City. Patty served the community through organizations ranging from the Junior League and Girl Scouts to the Museum of the City of New York. She was adept at making clothes for herself and her daughters and at hosting large, fun dinner parties. She and her husband began to collect art. She biked and cross-country skied with her family and for a time ran daily in Central Park. She swam and played tennis whenever she could, and rode horses in Texas, Egypt, Maine and New York.

Patty’s interest in other countries and cultures deepened, beginning with a summer studying French at the Sorbonne in Paris. She completed her undergraduate degree at Pace University, earned a master’s degree from Teachers College at Columbia University, and found work in New York’s non-profit sector. After studying Arabic, she found employment as a project office manager in Cairo with government consultants Dames and Moore. She later traveled to Hanoi seeking similar work. After studying Chinese for a time, she enjoyed an extended tour of China. And she visited her younger daughter and family in Bali, Indonesia.

South Portland, Maine, became Patty’s favorite place, and she moved there near her friend Mary Robin Guthrie. Their mothers were close friends and their children continue the tradition. She pursued volunteer work with the Association for Consulting Expertise, the Chinese American Friendship Association of Maine and the International Visitors Program. She worked as program director for the World Affairs Council. She practiced career counseling professionally and as a beautiful gift to her beloved family and close friends. She renovated and later sold two homes.

Patty was a loving and laughing grandmother: baking, sharing Willard Beach and Disneyworld, and even scootering. She visited and then moved near her grandchildren in Hudson, NY. She laughed readily, to the point of (infectious) hysterics. She was singularly independent-minded and determined, and not only at Scrabble. She kept in touch with her far-ranging daughters without fail. She endured a long and unsolved motor disability. And she was beautiful at all stages of her life.

Patty is survived by daughters Kate Williams-McWorter (Abdul Alkalimat) of Urbana, IL, and Mary Vaughn Williams (Peter Superti) of Hudson, NY; her daughters’ father Dave H. Williams of New York; grandchildren Lucie Delphine Huston of Washington, DC, and Benjamin John Huston of Hudson; their father Rudy Huston of Hudson; sisters-in-law Marcia Perlitz of Dallas and Louise Estill Perlitz of Houston; cousin Joan Sexton of Dallas; nieces and nephews Theresa Latham (Joe) of Spring City, PA, Michael Perlitz of Houston, Thad Perlitz (Cyndi) of Rockwall, TX, Stacy Perlitz of Houston, and David Perlitz (Joe Maliga) of San Francisco; four grand-nieces and -nephews; and dear friends Sissy, Ellen and Pat Wood, Charlotte Greenfield, Betty T. Adkins, Tom C. Driscoll III, and Rachel Guthrie and her extended family, among others.

Patty’s daughters invite friends and family to a Celebration of Life to be held on Patty’s birthday, July 13, 2019 in South Portland, ME. Details will be shared on this page here at http://dorrstreet.org/patty. In lieu of donations, please send memories of Patty to katewill@illinois.edu.

This notice also appears in the Portland Press Herald dated Sunday, December 30, 2018.