Dr. Patricia Ann Pearse

“Laughter is the shortest distance between two people” - Victor Borge

On Friday, January 15, in her Holmes Beach, Florida home, Patricia “Patsy” Pearse left us all far too suddenly and far too soon. Devoted first born of the late Jack Pearse (2013) and Helen Pearse (nee Hulse) of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada; treasured friend and beloved big sister to Judy, John (Helen McKay), and Mike (Tia) Pearse; awesome aunt to Meghan Tambling (John), Amanda, Christopher, Tyler, and Carson Pearse; great (yes, great!) aunt to Jack Tambling; left behind by her beloved, Kate Brown; and dear friend to all those who were drawn to and touched by her good humour and willing ear: Patsy crawled into the hearts of all those she knew, even for the briefest of moments.

“A counsellor is a person with a magnet in her heart and a compass in her head.” - Unknown

Patsy was always drawn to people, and to young people in particular – to their emotional and physical well-being and to their education (just as they were drawn to her). To this end, she obtained her B.A. (Sociology) from the University of Western Ontario and her B.Ed. from O.I.S.E. at the University of Toronto. As a favourite teacher and coach at Georgetown District High School, she discovered a love of counselling. To feed this love and enable her to fully realize her wish to help others, Patsy went back to school to obtain her Masters at Syracuse University and then her Doctorate of Education from Rochester. Her research confirmed the vital importance of human touch in the counselling paradigm – a truth about which she was profoundly passionate.

“The first duty of love is to listen.” – Paul Tullich

As a counselling psychologist at the State University of New York in Fredonia in the early 1980s, Patsy was instrumental in the opening of the Crisis Centre, believing as she did that young people, in crisis, needed a place to call…a place to go…a place of comfort and safety.

Sadly, dear Patsy had several challenging health issues over several decades, each of which took its toll on her poor body…and soul. And that body and soul simply could not fight any longer…

Patsy’s greatest gift to others, indeed to us all, was her natural ability and sincere wish to “make ‘em laugh” (she was wonderfully witty and a great story-teller), to make others the focus of any interaction she had, to make others feel good about themselves through her thoughtful and carefully crafted question…or, at least, to have them feel better about themselves in the wake of each interaction with her. Even those who sought to care for or counsel her, came away from their shared time, together, feeling cared for and counselled by Patsy!

A celebration of Patsy’s life was held at Roser Memorial Community Church on Anna Maria (an Island dear to the Pearse family for generations) in Florida on Thursday, January 21.  A second memorial in Ontario will be held at a later date, with information to follow (please check, www.tawingo,net).  Those wishing to donate in Patsy’s memory may do so to either the Jack Pearse Memorial Campership Fund (www.tawingo.net/campership-fund), or the to the Fredonia College Foundation (earmarked for the “Counseling Centre Fund”) at 272 Central Ave. Fredonia, NY 14063 (www.fredonia.edu); or the Roser Memorial Community Church on Anna Maria Island (www.roserchurch.com); or knowing of Patsy’s love of poetry, may simply take a moment to reflect and write a witty, introspective haiku in her honour.