A Life Remembered…..

Patricia Louise Cross Tillotson, age 86, from Palm Bay, FL and previously Groveton, NH, unexpectedly left this life on September 29, 2018, at Holmes Regional Medical Center due to complications while recuperating from a fall.  She was not finished with all she wanted to accomplish with her life, but to her credit, she never would have been finished.

Patricia was born on July 27, 1932, in Island Pond, Vermont, to the late Alfred J. Cross and Blanche Boesch.  She was raised in Groveton and graduated from Groveton High School in 1950.

She married the love of her life, Dean Tillotson, in 1951 and traveled with him for the early years of their marriage while he was serving in the United States Navy.  They returned to Groveton, NH, where they built their home (much of it with their own hands) and raised their two children.  Pat is survived by her daughter, Heidi Wolfgram, of Palm Bay, Florida and was devastatingly predeceased by her husband, Dean, in 2010, and son, Daniel, in 2011.

Pat enjoyed close relationships with her grandchildren who include three grandsons Aaron Wolfgram; Benjamin Wolfgram; and Keith Lacroix; three granddaughters Kelly Wolfgram Sudnik; Ashley Tillotson; Jaime Tillotson.  She is also survived by six cherished great-grandchildren.

Pat also maintained supportive and fun contact with her many nieces and nephews including ongoing generations of her 'great' and 'great-great' nieces and nephews.  This earned her the self-proclaimed, fun title of being their "Greatest Aunt Pat."  She believed it was keeping her current and young-at-heart and she greatly enjoyed contact with them in person, by email, and on Facebook.

There are many friends and family members who think of Pat as a second mother and this goes back to when she was little more than a child or teenager herself.  She gave generously of herself, along with her many talents, and she never waited to be asked, but would seamlessly fill any void she became aware of.  She was tireless, dependable, a perfectionist, and beautifully accomplished all the many challenges and projects she undertook.  She was known first and foremost as an exceptional seamstress and enjoyed demanding challenges such as tailored suits, wedding and prom dresses, draperies, etc.  She was a steady volunteer to many projects in Groveton, NH, and the Groveton Methodist Church.

Pat was a woman who loved lifelong learning and was still enrolling in writing and computer classes right up to the time of her death.  She had become a dedicated writer in the last decade of her life and loved belonging to her writers' group.  She enjoyed writing new chapters for her book by drawing upon prior and current life events and, at the time of her death, she was writing about her recent fall and all she had learned about herself through this experience.  Her granddaughter, Kelly, is hoping to get her grandmother's memoirs published which would become a cherished testament to             Pat's well-lived and multi-accomplished life. Pat's life firmly embraced the cautionary wisdom found in the adage, "We do not stop learning because we grow old; we grow old because we stop learning."

Being the mother to her two children, Heidi and Danny, was always Pat's first priority.  As they got older, Pat returned to school taking advantage of continuing education opportunities from 1971-1983 through the University of New Hampshire, the University of Maine, and Colby College of NH.   During 1973-74, she was the proud recipient of a Ford Foundation Leadership Development Fellowship.   She worked in the Groveton Elementary School as a Special Education assistant, 1970-78, and served as the Groveton librarian, 1978-1982.   In "retirement" after moving to Florida, she was employed in several managerial positions including Public Storage where her husband, Dean, would laughingly declare that he was her hired help and she was his boss!

Pat's memorial service will be held at the Armstrong-Charron Funeral Home in Groveton, NH on Saturday, October 27 ^th , at 2 pm where it is her greatest wish to be joined with her beloved husband and son for all of eternity.   There will also be an informal gathering at the North Country Family Restaurant in Groveton following the service.  Arrangements are under the direction of Armstrong-Charron Funeral Home in Groveton, NH, and expressions of sympathy and remembrances can be left for the family online at www.armstrongcharronfuneralhome.com .