Obituary of Patricia Joyce Tolaio

Patricia "Pat" Joyce Tolaio Pat passed away unexpectedly on Monday, May 30, while recovering from recent back surgery. She was 78. Pat was born in 1933 in San Jose, CA. She moved to Santa Cruz when she was five years old where she attended elementary school, Mission Hill Junior High, and graduated from Santa Cruz High School. She also attended the University of Oregon. She had various jobs throughout her life including a travel agent and as manager of the Personal Touch Clothing Store in Scotts Valley, yet her role as a mother and homemaker always came first. Her immediate and extended family meant the world to her and her to them. Family is what mattered most to Pat, always putting their interests before her own, helping to create and maintain a close family that deeply shared her love. Her friends were also extremely important to her and the list of friends ranged far and wide. She remained close to many friends from her youth and she often spoke about those friends and their antics while at Santa Cruz High. Other friends came from her bridge group, charity groups, neighbors, her children's friends, and most recently from Spring Lakes Mobile Home Park. Always active, she was a cheerleader in high school and traveled the world extensively. One of her favorite destinations was South Lake Tahoe, at a cabin her brother Richard bought in 1955, which she considered a second home. She always looked forward to the annual family gathering in Tahoe every 4th of July as well as other family get-togethers at Christmas, birthdays and other occasions. And if she needed to pass some time you could always find her with electronic Yahtzee in her hands. One could always find Pat involved with one of her many non-profit organizations. Pat's hundreds of hours of community service included the Central Coast Chapter of the Family Service Agency/Daisy, where she was their first treasurer, the Children's Home Society, and mostly recently, the Dominican Guild. Pat was generous in laugher, spirit, love and kindness and will be profoundly missed by her family, friends and the community. She is survived by her daughter, Stacey Mecadon and her husband Willie of Santa Cruz, her son Lance Tolaio and his wife Sharon, of Corralitos, her son Mark Tolaio of Corralitos; grandchildren, Kristen Mecadon of Tucson, AZ, Michael Mecadon of South Lake Tahoe and Lauren Mecadon of Santa Cruz; nieces and nephews, Mike Tolaio and his wife Stacey of Scotts Valley, Jeff Tolaio and his wife Andrea Tolaio of Santa Cruz, and Elizabeth Devins of Capitola; brother-in-law Vince Tolaio and his wife Donna of Santa Cruz, brother-in-law Ed Dovichi of Soquel, sister-in-law Angie Devins of Capitola; and great nieces and nephews Bradley, Erica, and Luca Tolaio. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 39 years, Robert Tolaio, brother Richard Devins, parents Fred and Elsie Devins, sister-in-law Veronica Dovichi, and brother-in-law John Tolaio and his wife Florence. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated Monday, June 6, 2011 at Holy Cross Catholic Church, 126 High St., Santa Cruz, CA at 10:00 am. The funeral procession will leave Benito & Azzaro Pacific Gardens Chapel 1050 Cayuga St, Santa Cruz, CA at 9:30 am. A vigil service will be held at Pacific Gardens Chapel on Sunday evening at 7:00 pm. A visitation will be Sunday from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm at Pacific Gardens Chapel. A private interment will be in Holy Cross Cemetery, Santa Cruz, CA . Please visit www.pacific gardenschapel.com to light a candle or express your condolences to Pat's family. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Hospice of Santa Cruz County, 940 Disc Dr. Scotts Valley, CA 95066, Dominican Hospital Foundation Guild, 1555 Soquel Dr. Santa Cruz, CA 95065 or the American Cancer Society, PO Box 22718 Oklahoma City, OK 73123-1718.