Patricia Marie (Crane) Furnivall of West Hartford, passed away peacefully on her 94th birthday, Friday, July 1, 2022, after celebrating with family in the home in which she had lived for the last 63 years. She shared many qualities with her lifelong friend, Winnie the Pooh, whose words we feel today: “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

Pat was born in 1928 in Weehawken, NJ to Marie Elizabeth (Haverty) and James Earl Crane. After her father’s passing in 1936, she and her mother traveled to Illinois to be near extended family and to make their way through the Depression and World War II together. Pat attended New Trier High School in Winnetka, IL before heading east to Mount Holyoke College, an institution to which she was a devoted and active alumna, eventually becoming a Trustee of the College, President of the Alumnae Association, and proudly earning the Alumnae Medal of Honor.

Pat’s post-college career began at Dun & Bradstreet followed by AT&T in New York City. She left the workplace to marry William Harbison Furnivall, with whom she raised their two children, James Crane and Elizabeth Marie, until Bill’s untimely death in 1983. A professed “one-man woman,” Pat spent the next four decades continuing to focus on family, friends, and involvement in the community as a Trustee for Hartford College for Women for over 25 years, her church, and world travel. When grandchildren arrived on the scene, she enthusiastically embraced her role as Grammy Pat.

It was Pat’s highly esteemed values of honesty, loyalty, and pragmatic counsel that touched many people and made her a valued contributor wherever she went. Her delicious holiday cookies, custom-shaped birthday cakes, perfectly wrapped gifts, witty wordplay, and sweet humility were some of the things that made holidays and family gatherings so special and memorable.

Pat is survived by her son, Jim, and his wife Lisa (Wesolowski) of Daniel Island, SC; her daughter, Beth, and her husband Brian Keane of Weston, MA; five grandchildren, Sarah, Alexander, and Victoire Keane, Garrett and Jack Furnivall; and her niece and nephews. Her family was her pride and joy and will continue to strive to embody the qualities she held dear.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 9, 2022, at First Church of Christ Congregational, 12 South Main Street, West Hartford, CT. The family will receive friends and well-wishers at a reception immediately afterwards. Gifts may be made in Pat’s memory to The Mount Holyoke Fund at Mount Holyoke College, PO Box 889, South Hadley, MA 01075. Online expressions of sympathy may be made at www.SheehanHilbornBreen.com.