Obituary of Patricia Ellen King

Patricia Ellen King passed away peacefully at home in Denville, New Jersey, on December 31, 2025, at the age of 75.

Patricia (Pat) was the daughter of the late Edward J. King and Patricia M. (McDermott) King, who were long-time residents of Denville since 1972. Born in New York City in 1950, Pat grew up in the Woodhaven section of Queens, graduating from St. Sylvester’s Grammar School in Brooklyn, Our Lady of Wisdom Academy in Ozone Park, Queens, and Pace University in Manhattan.

Pat started her career in medical office administration at the NYU Medical Center in Manhattan, where she was always loved and respected for both the impeccable quality of her work and her kind, thoughtful, and contagiously sunny disposition. Pat eventually relocated to Denville NJ where her parents had settled after moving from Woodhaven. In Denville Pat found her long-time work home at St Clare’s Hospital, serving as a medical transcriptionist in the Radiology Department for 35 years. Over those 35 years, countless co-workers, doctors, medical staff, and all levels of hospital employees knew and loved Pat for the bright and hopeful presence she brought to St Clare’s, despite her own life-long health challenges. Pat’s bright smile was a light to others. Her resilience and ability to bounce back from her own struggles, resist defeatism, and move forward positively with a life focused on faith and caring about others, provided a bright light of hope to those who knew her. In 2015 Pat retired from her dedicated service to St. Clare’s.

In retirement Pat enjoyed meeting even more friends in Denville through the very active Denville Senior Citizens group, as well as through her faith community at St. Mary’s Church. Shegreatly enjoyed going out to lunch with her friends. Pat was known for her bubbly personality, her good sense of humor, and her thoughtfulness and kindness, especially her love of sending greeting cards to numerous friends, cousins, and other family members for every occasion.

Pat’s greatest loves were her family, her faith, and all things Irish, relying on her Catholic faith to get her through the many ups and downs of her life. Pat had a special devotion to St. Therese of Lisieux, the “Little Flower”. Pat also had a quiet way of sharing her faith, for example, through the well known poemcalled “Footprints in The Sand”, that speaks of God carrying us when we struggle through the darkest moments of our lives.

A major blessing in Pat’s life was the miraculous gift of a kidney transplant which she received through the organ donation process in 2007. Pat’s family wishes to extend our deepest appreciation to the family of the late Kyle Riley (formerly of Westerly, RI) who so selflessly transformed the loss of their loved one into the lifesaving gift of organ donation. The Riley’sgift gave Pat an increased quality of life and health for many, many more years, which would not have been possible without her receiving this gift of life.

Pat is survived by her devoted brother, Edward J. King of Denville, NJ; loving sister, Marianne King Powers, and her husband, James (Jep) Powers, of Madisonville, LA; her beloved niece, Erin Elizabeth Powers, and beloved nephew, BrendanEdward Powers; 17 cousins of the King and Hegarty families; and numerous friends and former co-workers she has stayed in touch with. Pat was predeceased by her parents, and by her twobeloved cousins, Peter King of Florida, and Buddy King of Steamboat Springs, CO.

Visitation will be held on Friday, January 9, 2026, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Norman Dean Home for Services, 16 Righter Avenue, Denville, NJ 07834 (www.normandean.com). A Funeral Mass will follow at 1:00 p.m. at St. Mary’s Church, 15 Myers Avenue, Denville, NJ. Entombment will take place following the Mass at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery Mausoleum in East Hanover, NJ.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the following organizations: Catholic Charities, Diocese of Paterson www.ccpaterson.org; NJ Sharing Network (organ donation network) www.njsharingnetwork.org; Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center www.rwjbh.org; or to a charity of your choice.

*If you are unable to attend Mass, you can watch it anytime through St. Mary's YouTube page, or by clicking here.*