PATRICIA WHITLOCK Obituary

WHITLOCK, Patricia H. "Patsy" Age 90, of Wayland, MA, died on Saturday, July 26, 2025. Born in Detroit, Michigan, she was the daughter of the late Harold and Nerissa (Fitzsimmons) Hoey. She was the beloved wife of the late Charles P. Whitlock. Patsy grew up in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, on the campus of the Cranbrook Schools, where her father was Headmaster of the boys' school. She always credited Cranbrook with giving her a keen appreciation of beauty and design in art and in nature. From a young age, she spent summers at Folly Cove in Gloucester, MA, with her family, which fostered a lifelong love of the Cape Ann area. Patsy attended Kingswood School for girls at Cranbrook, graduating in 1952, and then Smith College, graduating in 1956. After a brief "grand tour" of Europe with a friend, she started her work life in the Boston area, first in a secretarial pool at Harvard, where she met her future husband, Charles, then at the publisher Houghton Mifflin, as an assistant in the Children's Division. Patsy and Charles married in 1960 and settled in Cambridge, where they raised four children of their own, as well as Charles' daughter from a previous marriage. They moved to Gloucester from 1971 to 1975, and again following Charles' retirement, from 1982 to 2015. Patsy spent the last ten years at The Residence at Paine Estate in Wayland. Patsy worked many part-time jobs while her children were young, from reading manuscripts for Houghton Mifflin to selling real estate to assisting in the Middle and Upper School libraries at Buckingham Browne & Nichols (BB&N). She went on to teach at the BB&N Upper School and later became Director of Admissions, a position she retained while she went back to school at Salem State College to earn an MSW. In the 1990s, Patsy worked as a social worker with the underserved throughout the North Shore. In addition to her paid work, she volunteered throughout her life, from being a Cub Scout den mother to delivering food with Meals on Wheels. Never one to slow down, Patsy filled her retirement with more volunteer work around the North Shore. She was an enthusiastic docent at the Peabody-Essex Museum and the Cape Ann Museum, taught at Wellspring, and helped lead the Good Neighbors program, the Annisquam Sewing Circle, the Annisquam Village Hall Association, the Annisquam Village Church and more. She also read several libraries' worth of books, both on her own and with book groups, and knit an abundance of sweaters, hats, and socks for family, friends, and acquaintances. Patsy loved life and living and had a genius for friendship and laughter. She will be missed by dear companions and colleagues met in every stage of her life, from elementary school through her days in Wayland. She is survived by her sister, Deborah Hoey, of Santa Rosa, California; her children, Carol Whitlock of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Adam Whitlock (Linda) of Alpine, California, Susan Whitlock (Earl Lewis) of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Matthew Whitlock (Penny Neal) of Gloucester and Beth Whitlock (Chris Houlihan) of Sudbury; her grandchildren, Samuel and Ella Houlihan, Christopher Fost, Lindsey (Mickelson) Hoadley and Michael Mickelson, Suzanne and Max Lewis; six great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. Her Funeral Service will be at the Annisquam Village Church, 820 Washington Street, Gloucester, on Thursday, August 14, at 11 am. Relatives and friends are invited to attend the Service and a reception at the Annisquam Village Hall. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Patsy's memory to her beloved Cape Ann Museum, 27 Pleasant Street, Gloucester, MA 01930, www.capeannmuseum.org. Arrangements by the Campbell Funeral Home, 61 Middle Street, GLOUCESTER. Information, directions, condolences at www.campbellfuneral.com