Patricia Evelyn Shanklin

Patricia (known to her friends as Trish) was born on October 13, 1940 in Baltimore, MD to Elizabeth and Milton Schneeberger. She experienced life-threatening childhood illnesses, any one of which could have taken her away before she started school. She remembered going to the doctor, and the doctor coming to her house, during the blackouts which were mandated during World War II. Trish survived to attend school where she was taught by the nuns at Sacred Heart elementary school and at the Institute of Notre Dame. At IND, one of Trish’s classmates was Nancy D’Alessandro, now better known as Nancy Pelosi. Following her graduation in 1959, she attended Strayer College, following which she started her first job at Baltimore Federal Savings and Loan. Trish worked as a new accounts receptionist and teller. At Baltimore Federal she met a fellow employee by the name of Bob Shanklin; they began a courtship and were married in 1965. Children followed and Trish became a stay-at-home mom. Kathleen was born in April 1966, and Leslie followed in August 1967.

In the meantime, Bob left the bank and became a mortgage insurance salesman. In 1979 he announced to Trish and the family that he was offered a promotion and the opportunity to move to Madison, Wisconsin. Trish was not excited about leaving her family and friends in Baltimore, but she felt this was a good opportunity for Bob and for herself and children. So, they went. This proved to be the first of a several relocations that Trish made with her family, including moves to Richmond, VA, Atlanta, GA, Chicago, IL and finally back to Fulton, MD.

After the difficulty Trish experienced in her first move to Madison, she became a pro at moving, setting up a household and meeting new people. With each move, Trish’s job was to decorate the new house, empty the moving boxes, and get the kids started in a new school while her husband went to work.

While in Atlanta, Trish entered Mercer University where she became excited about going back to school. She maintained a 4.0 GPA for her two years there before Mercer closed its Atlanta campus and the Shanklins moved to Chicago.

Trish and Bob became empty nesters when both daughters went to college. They made their next and final move in 1994 when they were relocated back to where they began, Maryland. They settled in Fulton, MD and Trish joined Church of the Resurrection and the choir.

Trish became a grandmom and babysitter when Isabel, Jordan, Ethan, and Kara were born. She reveled in her new role and loved attending Resurrection church and singing and making new friends in the choir.

Throughout her lifetime, Trish gained a reputation as an interior decorator, a great cook and entertainer, and an accomplished musician. She loved meeting people, cooking and collecting cookbooks, playing bridge and mah jong, decorating and singing and playing piano at home. She and Bob loved to travel, making trips all over the US and ten trips to Europe. Their 50th wedding anniversary was spent in Rome with their whole family, including the grandkids.

Trish started to become ill around the time of the pandemic and became progressively worse until in 2023 she entered Vienna Manor in Oakton, VA, an assisted living facility, and started hospice care this January. Trish was taken from us on April 8, 2024.

She will long be remembered by her many friends, including many that she sang with in Resurrection choir. And she will especially be missed by her loving family including her four grandchildren, her husband Bob and daughters Kathleen and Leslie.

God rest you Trish!

A visitation for Patricia will be held Thursday, April 18, 2024 from 3:00PM to 5:00PM and 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM at Witzke Funeral Homes Inc., 5555 Twin Knolls Road, Columbia, MD 21045. A funeral service will occur Friday, April 19, 2024 from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM at Church of the Resurrection, 3315 Greencastle Rd., Burtonsville, MD 20866.

For donations in Patricia's honor, memorial contributions may be made to World Central Kitchen, www.wck.org