Pat at Peace

God peacefully took our Wife, Mother, Grandma, Sister, Aunt, Cousin, Niece, Godmother, Friend, Patty Duke and Rockstar to be a special angel on the morning of March 1, 2017.

We know why she was put on this earth. Considering the 34 years she protected children in the Village of Kimberly as a crossing guard, the thousands of trips to the nursing home to care for her parents, Bernard and Audrey Vanden Boogaard, being a guardian for her younger brother Bob after their parent’s death, on top of raising a family and being a wonderful wife, it is clear that she was placed here to guard and care for us. But that was nothing yet.

Even after being given a tough diagnosis of leukemia and fighting it with all the side effects that 27 chemotherapy sessions over the next five and a half years would bring her, she continued to take care of people. She attended more of her grandkids games than seemed reasonably possible, made hundreds of frosted and sugared cut-out cookies every year, and lightened the day of the nurses who took care of her.

When she had time to take care of herself she loved to hold and go to rummage sales, have ‘learning sessions’ with her breakfast group, and take out other friends at lunch. She loved going to country music concerts, traveling anywhere anyone would take her, and watching TV and keeping track of the celebrities, especially Nashville series and Leukemia and Lymphoma Society chairperson, Charles Esten.

We will fondly remember her determination, persistence, pride, humor, spoiling, ‘opera’ singing, Culvers, tacos, and Tootsie Pops.
While she only was on this earth 67 years, we should not feel that she did not live a full life. In fact, she probably lived more than most, and we believe that is shown by the number of people she impacted and share our love for her. Regrettably, we couldn’t possibly list them all, but you know who you are.

She is loved by her husband of 46 years, Tom, her son Jeff and Kelli Rindt, and her son Randy and Anne and her grandkids Grant (Buddy), Michael (The Man) and Claudia (Sweetie Pie). She is loved by her brothers and sisters: Mary and Lenny Milton, Kim and Laurie Vanden Boogaard, and Bob Vanden Boogaard and sister-in-law Sherree (Jim), and their children.

She is too loved by Tom’s brothers and sisters: Dave and Maria Asman, Mary and Steve Arend, and Russ and Lynne Asman and their children.

She has joined her parents, her brother Jim, and brother Garry and sister-in-law Jackie, and Tom’s parents Roy and Effie, in heaven.

We know we are not alone in our love for her. We invite all those who knew her to celebrate her life on Friday, March 3, 2017 from 4:00 PM until 7:00 PM at the Jansen Fargo Funeral Home, 204 E. Kimberly Avenue in Kimberly, and Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 620 E. Kimberly Avenue in Kimberly on Saturday, March 4 from 9:00 AM until the time of the service at 11:00 AM.
We know that words are difficult.

Please bring a photo or a written thought of Pat to help us preserve her memory.

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