This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.

Patricia W. Jaeger died at the Connecticut Hospice in Branford on Sept. 29. After several years of struggling valiantly and gracefully with a variety of medical problems, the end finally arrived swiftly and painlessly. The final days even included some major bright spots: dinner at home with friends a few days before she died, and, a few weeks before she died, a trip with friends to South Carolina to bask in the 100 percent totality of a solar eclipse.

We are grateful that she was able to avoid prolonged suffering, and equally grateful that she was such a magnificent part of our lives.

Pat was born in Mineola, New York but grew up in Connecticut. Clearly a gifted pianist as a child, she was encouraged to pursue a musical career, but eventually decided not to chase that prize. So she took on a wonderful series of odd jobs: she sold business services for New England Telephone; she was a flight attendant for a charter airline; she was a draft counselor at Princeton University; she was a senior member of the professional staff at the Connecticut Trails Council of Girl Scouts; she helped manage Yale’s efforts to cope with the energy crisis of the 1970s; she worked for a small advertising agency in Branford; and so forth.

Pat’s life was not defined by jobs or careers. It was defined by a wide-ranging passion for life and for living things: adults, children, dogs, cats, trees, tomato plants, the works. She was wickedly smart, with a mischievous sense of humor and zero tolerance for pretension or pomposity. She was a voracious reader blessed with a vivid imagination and a very strong will. She brought warmth, light, and life into every gathering.

Her passion for the natural world led her to work with various environmental organizations: the Connecticut Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, the Guilford Land Conservation Trust, and others. Her passion for people led her to major efforts in the early days of the Women & Family Life Center.

Pat and her husband have lived in Guilford since 1983. Having developed a deep affection for the town, they ask that any contributions be made to the Patricia W. Jaeger Fund at the Guilford Foundation, P.O. Box 35, Guilford, CT 06437. A celebration of life is being planned for the near future. To share a memory or leave a message of condolence for the family, please visit www.GuilfordFuneralHome.com.