Patricia Ann (Courtney) Kruzel

Patricia Ann Kruzel passed away on Mother’s Day, May 10, 2020 after a long battle with cancer. Pat was born on July 30, 1944 to John and Ann (Rooney) Courtney in Liverpool, England and was baptized at St. Tomas Canterbury Catholic Church in Waterloo England. She grew up there attending St. Bede’s school. One of the fun things she did when she was young was to groom the horses which were boarded next to her home. As she grew older, she was thrilled to be able to ride and exercise the horses by running them, right in front of her home, along the beach of the Mersey River.

After completing school, Pat’s first job consisted of working at a cigarette factory where one of her duties was hand-rolling cigars. After a time, she gained employment as a seamstress, crafting finishing stiches on eiderdown (duck feathers) bed quilts. An exciting “famous person” acquaintance of Pats’ during her teen years was with one of the Beatles, Paul McCartney!

It was in England that Pat met and married American serviceman, Don Palen, in 1962. They started their family with one child before relocating to the U.S. in 1964. It was here that her family was completed with the addition of two more children. She was a member of St. Thomas Aquinas Church- Toledo. Pat made many new friends in her new surroundings and eventually became a U.S. citizen in 1994.

In addition to raising her family Pat continued to work at various jobs throughout her life. She eventually met and married Ray Kruzel on August 23, 1998 and added to her “family”. She and Ray had a new home built, and together did much of the finish work themselves. They also owned and operated a fishing charter boat business for 12 years.

In her leisure time Pat loved dancing and also enjoyed reading, sewing, biking, bingo, bunco and watching old movies.

Patricia is survived by her devoted husband, Raymond; daughters, Cheryl (Dan) Prodan- Walbridge, OH., Tracy (Bill) Mauder- Pinellas Park, FL., and Dee (Dave) Pullella- Oregon OH.; step-daughters, Stacey (Ken) Liszewski- Sarasota, FL., and Heather (Rob) Terwilliger- Bradenton,FL.; grandchildren: Nicholas, Christyn, Marty,  Breanne, Brian and Courtney; step-grandchildren, Jordan, Sylvia, Alexa, Nicholas, Abby, Tre, Jesse, Nicole, and Brittney; great-grandchildren, Kali, Jersey, Mason, Remington, Connor, Camber, Kainen, Haden, Brylee, Tatum and Ella and her beloved pets, Tucker and Lilly.  She was preceded in death by her parents, John and Ann; her first husband and father of her children, Don Palen.    

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