Patricia Jean "Pat" Gladbach

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Patricia Jean "Pat" Gladbach, resident of Deerfield, Mo., died Saturday, March 26, 2016, at her home. She was born on May 8, 1934, in Kansas City, Kan., the daughter of Charles and Wilma Farrabee Renicker. She was a graduate of Raytown High School, Raytown, Mo., and Saint Teresa's School of Nursing in Kansas City, Mo. Pat married James Edward "Jim" Gladbach on Feb. 11, 1956; a union that produced five children, and recently celebrated 60 years of marriage. She enjoyed a long and fulfilling nursing career while living in Kansas City, Blackburn and Sedalia, Mo.; Pittsburg and Concordia, Kan., and back to southeast Kansas where she retired from Mercy Hospital in Fort Scott, Kan., in 1995. Pat believed the world could, and should, be a better place, and she put her money where her mouth was. She was inspired to become a nurse after losing her brother to illness when they were both still in high school. Pat was a vocal advocate for the poor and disadvantaged. After starting her career in Kansas City, she later provided medical services via home visits to the less fortunate of rural north central Missouri; sometimes receiving payment in the form of baskets of eggs or baked goods, and other times with nothing more than a heart-felt thanks. During the 1960s, she was a very active participant in the civil rights movement; a decision that sometimes entailed direct threats to her personal safety. Pat was active in her church, and a Mercy Associate.

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