Leonore "Nora" Kerz Patterson

Leonore (Nora) Kerz Paterson died on February 8. She was 79. Born and raised in New York City, she graduated from The Brearley School. She then attended Duke University, where she met her husband John and received a BA in psychology in 1966. They were married that year. She and John attended the University of Florida, where she received a master’s degree while teaching and working as a graduate assistant, and he received his law degree.

Moving to Sarasota in 1970, and following the birth of their daughter Kimberly, Nora and her partner Jane Walden Miller purchased Greenwood Garden Center on Osprey Avenue. They operated the business successfully until 1979, when the business was sold but the real estate retained. She then taught school at Out of Door Academy and entered the real estate profession as a broker salesperson. She also continued as an investor, and was active in community affairs.

Nora was urged by city business leaders to seek office as a city commissioner, and was elected in 1991. She was re-elected and served a total of 8 years, including one year as mayor. Afterwards, she was elected to the Sarasota County Commission, and served for 16 years, including 3 years as commission chair. While serving on the Sarasota City Commission she was active in the Florida League of Cities and was a member of its executive committee.

During her service on the Sarasota County Commission, she represented the county on the Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority, the West Coast Inland Navigational District, and the Peace River Authority. She was also active in the Florida Association of Counties, and chaired the Sarasota Tourist Development Council. She also held leadership positions while serving on the boards of Planned Parenthood of Southwest Florida, Sarasota United Way, Plymouth Harbor, the Glasser Schoenbaum Center, Sarasota County Teen Court, Jewish Family and Children’s Service, and Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast. She narrowly lost the Republican primary election for the Florida State Senate in 2016.

Nora was an enthusiastic supporter of both Sarasota County and the State of Florida’s land conservation and public parks programs. The Sarasota County Commission and the City Commission, by joint action taken in 2015, recognized her lifetime efforts by naming the park located at the north bridge to Siesta Key the Nora Patterson Bay Island Park.

John and Nora’s daughter, Kimberly, died of leukemia in 2000.

Nora is survived by her husband John; her brother, Paul; her son in law, Brian Murphy and his family; her brother and sister in law, Peter and Pam Gianino; and beloved nieces and nephews.

Memorial services will be held om March 14, 2024 at 5:30PM at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, 1534 Mound St, Sarasota, FL 34236.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Kim’s Fund at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, P.O. Box 4486, Houston, TX 77210-4486 (kimsfund.org) or Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast, PO Box 902, Osprey, Florida 34229 (conservationfoundation.com).