DUBUQUE, Iowa — Patricia Jean Dougherty, age 80, of Dubuque, passed away on Friday, June 2, 2023, after a long illness, cared for by her loving family. She was a warm and wonderful wife, mother, sister, grandmother, aunt and friend. She was kind and intelligent, one of the world’s great storytellers, and a connoisseur of really good jokes.
A visitation for family and friends will be from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Friday, June 9th, 2023, at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church. A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. with Fr. Steve Rosonke officiating. The burial will be in Mount Olivet Cemetery. Leonard Funeral Home & Crematory, Dubuque, Iowa is assisting the family. Online condolences may be left at www.leonardfuneralhome.com.
She was born on April 7, 1943, in Dyersville Iowa, to Lonald and Leona (Jasper) McElmeel. The youngest of five children, she grew up in a fun-loving family and remained close to her siblings throughout her life. She graduated from St Francis Xavier School high school in Dyersville and enjoyed her career at Life of Mid-America Insurance in Dubuque where she worked as the agency secretary.
She married William Dougherty of Dubuque on June 22, 1973. During their fifty happy years together, they nurtured their own close-knit family, with daughter Christina (Fortmann) and son Shawn. She cared for her family as a stay-at-home mother, and later worked at Shaffer Photography. She was devoted to her granddaughters Ella and Maddy Fortmann, and her son-in-law, Tony Fortmann.
She loved lively conversation, good food, digging in the dirt in her backyard where she grew beautiful flowers, and being Irish. No one enjoyed the holidays more than she did, and to her, Christmas night was the perfect opportunity to begin planning for the next Christmas. She loved to shop and read and play the slots. She had a deeply sympathetic heart and could see the humor in any situation. More than anything, she loved to laugh.
Besides her immediate family, she is survived by her sister, Bernadine Thielen, of Dyersville, Iowa, her brother-in-law Patrick Dougherty, her sister- and brother-in-law Carol and Joe Stecher, and many adoring nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her brother Lynell McElmeel, of Waukesha, Wisconsin, sister Donna Shaffer and her husband, James Shaffer, of Dubuque, her sister Kathleen Luensmann and her husband David Luensmann, of Denver, Colorado, and brother-in-law Gene Thielen, of Dyersville, Iowa.
Pat’s family would like to thank Chris from Hospice of Dubuque for providing such kind and compassionate care. Memorial contributions can be made to Hospice of Dubuque.
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