Pat came from humble beginnings. She was the second youngest and last surviving of eight children growing up on the Hartle family dairy farm in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, during the Great Depression and World War II. After the loss of her mother at the age of seven, she spent her childhood learning all that she could in a two-room schoolhouse in nearby Glenfield. College was not affordable for her, but she realized that a year’s worth of business school and plain old hard work just might find her a job. In 1957, she got on an airplane headed for California, with a single suitcase in one hand and a four-year-old in the other, to start a new life.
In 1958, she married Charlie Poss and not long after found herself working alongside him. She helped build and run a thriving family earth-moving and construction business. She was hard working, whip-smart, understood people, and had a keen mind for business. Pat touched so many lives through the construction industry providing literally tens of thousands of jobs. C.W. Poss, Inc. and other business ventures were responsible for a number of landmark developments and high-profile projects throughout the southland including many housing tracts, golf courses, high rises, hospitals, airports, sports venues, performing arts centers, harbors, and landfills that we all still use today. In a 2003 interview, she said, “nothing should stand in a person’s way to make it to the top, if you make up your mind to do the job right, put your heart and soul into it, work hard and stay focused”.
Yet, it was her philanthropic work about which she was most proud and passionate. Pat supported many charitable organizations such as Opera Pacific, Segerstrom Center for Arts, Pacific Symphony, Orangewood Children’s Foundation, Arts Orange County, and City of Hope among others. She was always willing to help and always the first to volunteer for any task. For over 31 years, she volunteered as a Board of Directors member for Segerstrom Center for the Arts, and in that time her philanthropic achievements helped build the Center and its arts community of Orange County. On April 28, 2022, Pat was unanimously appointed with the honor of Director Emeritus by the Executive Committee of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. She is only the third board member, and the first female, to receive this recognition.
Pat’s warm smile, love, and devotion to her family have left a lasting impression on all who have known her. Pat was an amazing individual, with a heart of gold and kindness that extended to all she knew. She was generous, thoughtful, and genuine and believed giving of yourself and your time was the most important thing. One of the ways that Pat showed her love was through her passion and talent for cooking and baking. She enjoyed preparing meals and desserts for her family. She would often spend days preparing for a birthday or holiday and tried to make sure everyone would get their favorites. She would spend months preparing and choosing the perfect gifts and it was so important to her that her family members felt loved and cared for.
Resilience and courage helped her to eventually build a life she loved. In her last days, with her family at her bedside, she commented that her life sure did start out difficult but that it turned out wonderful and it was her family and friends that were such a big part of that.
Pat is survived by her daughter Janet (Dan), daughter Robin (Patrick) and son Chuck (Sharlene). She adored her 9 grandchildren Danny, Rosie, Christopher, Elizabeth, Olivia, Jake, Madeline, Patrick and Ryan and 6 great grandchildren Allie, Abigail, Danny, Bella, Daniel, and Christopher.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations can be made to either Segerstrom Center for the Arts for their musical theater camp for at-risk youth, “Summer at the Center.” 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa CA 92626 www.scfta.org or Orangewood Foundation’s scholarship funds 1575 E. 17th Street Santa Ana, CA 92705 www.orangewoodfoundation.org/donate.
A Visitation will be held on Wednesday, May 18, 2022, between 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM with the Rosary service commencing at 6:00 PM at the McAulay & Wallace Mortuary 902 N. Harbor Blvd, Fullerton, Ca. 92832.
Funeral services will be held on Thursday, May 19, 2022, at 10:00 AM at St Juliana Falconieri Church, 1316 N Acacia Ave, Fullerton, CA 92831 with a Celebration of Pat’s Life following the funeral mass.
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