Mary Patricia Pavlisin passed away peacefully at home on May 21, 2018, with family by her side. Mary Patricia Gleason (Pat) was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, on January 13, 1923, to Katherine (McLaughlin) Gleason and Charles Edward Gleason. On May 3, 1943, she joined the SPARS division of the US Coast Guard, where her job was link simulator trainer for the pilots. After the Coast Guard she settled in Houston, Texas, where she met George Leo (Serg) Pavlisin, from Kemmerer, Wyo. They married in May 1950. The Pavlisin family settled in Mill Valley, Calif., in 1959. Pat had been a member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish since that time. She was the organist at the parish for more than 40 years. She was a longtime member of the Marin Bonsai Club. Following her husband’s death in 1972, Mary went to work at the San Francisco Presidio until retiring in 1988.
She is survived by her four daughters: Mary Graham (Ron), Reno, Nevada; Anne Pavlisin, Incline Village, Nevada; Madonna Green, Novato, Calif.; and Linda Newman (Jake), Mill Valley, Calif. Mary is also survived by six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her brother, Wayne, of St. Louis, Missouri, who passed in 2015.
Mary’s deep Catholic faith was the basis for her kind and generous spirit, her service to her church, family, friends and community.
She was an inspiration to all who had the opportunity to know her. The world has lost a lovely, engaging and faithful woman. She will be profoundly missed.
