Patricia Ann Thorpe

Patricia "Tricia" Ann Thorpe passed away peacefully at Sparrow Hospital in East Lansing on 18 Dec. 2018 at the age of 88. Tricia was the daughter of the late Carl and Julia "Callie" Everly. She is survived by her loving children, Kevin (Margaret) Thorpe and Karen (Robert) Mandarino, and her three grandchildren – Alex Mandarino, Kyle Thorpe and Kristian Mandarino. Tricia was predeceased by all four of her siblings – Eileen Edwards, Jim Everly, John Everly and Dorothy Cook.

Tricia lived a very full and active life. A few years after graduating as class Valedictorian from Farmington High School, Tricia married and supported her now-former husband, Kenneth “Ken” Thorpe, as they raised their family in five different countries around the world. This phase of her life gave Tricia a passion for world travel and languages, which her children were grateful to have been able to share with her on many occasions over the years.

Once Ken set Tricia free from the bonds of matrimony, she blossomed into the next phase of her amazing life as a much stronger and independent woman. In 1985, she graduated Phi Beta Kappa from MSU with a BA in Spanish. After a couple of brief assignments with other companies, Tricia found a long-term and fulfilling career with Plante Moran where she thrived as an Executive Assistant, made many enduring friendships and stayed until her retirement in 2005.

She remained active in the community following retirement as a member of The Peoples Church (serving in multiple capacities), a volunteer at the Sparrow Hospital plus Friends of the Library, Secretary of the Todd Martin Foundation and a member of the Tuesday Tee Birds, the Red Hat Society and a couple bridge groups. Perhaps most notably, she was an avid sports fan, especially for MSU basketball and football. She could often be found cheering the teams on with her dear neighbors, Maureen and Don, who were like family to Tricia.

Tricia enjoyed golf, reading, watching movies and was particularly fond of singing. Family and faith were core pillars of her life. Tricia was an incredibly loving, generous, strong, and tenacious individual who led by example. Her smile, positivity and charming wit would often light up the room. Tricia’s enduring legacy will be caring for others through support and listening, which she pursued as one of her key life missions. Her life touched and inspired many. She will be greatly missed.

Visitation for Tricia will be held at 10:30AM on Saturday January 5th, 2019 at The Peoples Church located at 200 W. Grand River Ave. in East Lansing (phone 517/332-5073) followed by the funeral service at 11:30AM. Reception in the church's Robertson room will be held immediately after the service. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorial gifts be made to The Peoples Church Organ Fund.