Patricia E. Schwab

Schwab, Patricia (Driscoll) Gilnack passed away peacefully early on Tuesday, December 6, 2022, surrounded by her loving sons and their spouses, Billy and Teri Gilnack and Christopher and Adrienne Gilnack. Patty was born in New London November 3, 1943 to John and Patricia (Tracey) Driscoll. She grew up in East Hartford, a town that became her much-loved forever home, and graduated from East Hartford High School in 1961. She married Billy Gilnack in 1966, and had two children. Patty was an incredibly hard worker, seamlessly juggling demanding full-time jobs while simultaneously raising her family with the utmost devotion and care. For over thirty years, she and her second husband Donald were the owners of City Check Cashing, a successful business with stores throughout the greater Hartford area. She and Don loved to travel, and together explored places like Alaska, Costa Rica, the Mayan Riviera, and Aruba. They also enjoyed frequent trips to Mohegan Sun and Atlantis Casino in the Bahamas. But family was always Patty’s top priority, and she adored hosting holiday gatherings with sumptuous (and abundant) food, and took particular delight in decorating every nook of her home festively for the occasion. The woman really knew how to throw a party! Christmas was, without question, her favorite holiday, and we will deeply miss the sparkle of her presence this year and ever after. She always began shopping months ahead of time, with an uncanny knack for finding the perfect gift precisely tailored for each individual, and reveled in their pleasure and surprise upon unwrapping it. She utterly doted on her seven grandchildren, and formed deep, close ties with each one, trading confidences, sharing special lunches and planning fun “mystery rides” with them. Patty was a selfless, big-hearted person, with a razor-sharp wit and an inimitable way with words.

Patty is survived by her husband Donald Schwab, her son Billy, his wife Teri, and their three children (William, Samantha, and Taylor), her younger son Christopher, his wife Adrienne, and their two sons (Christian and Jonathan). She is also survived by her sister Kerry Driscoll and brother-in-law Daniel Bailey and their two sons (Liam and Austin). Additionally, she leaves two stepchildren, Jean-Marie Berry and her husband Ed, and David and Rose Schwab and their two daughters (Marie and Sarah), and her brother-in-law, Charles Schwab. Patty was predeceased by her first husband Billy Gilnack and her parents, John and Pat Driscoll. She knew almost everyone in East Hartford, always greeting them with a warm word and a smile, and had a wide network of close, loving friends—among them Virginia Alleano, Joyce Jarish, Ruth Snyder, and Lucille Wall. She was a long-time member of Beta Sigma Phi sorority and the East Hartford Woman’s Club, for which she organized numerous fund-raising events to benefit the group’s scholarship fund for local young women. The family would also like to express its gratitude to two special caregivers who lovingly assisted Patty during her recent illness, Penny Forngemie and Jacqueline Estremera from Polish Helping Hands.

Funeral service will be Saturday (December 10, 2022) at 9 am from the D’Esopo East Hartford Memorial Chapel, 30 Carter Street, East Hartford with a Mass of Christian Burial celebrated at 10 am at Our Lady of Peace Church of St. Edmund Campion Parish, 370 May Street, East Hartford. Burial will follow at Silver Lane Cemetery, East Hartford. Patty’s family will receive relatives and friends on Friday (December 9, 2022) from 3:30 pm to 7 pm at the funeral home chapel. The family asks that memorial donations in Patty’s name please be made to the East Hartford Woman’s Club Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 380401, East Hartford, CT 06138-0401. For on-line expressions of sympathy to the family, please visit www.desopoeh.com.