Patricia Burgess

Patricia Burgess, 66, of Shaker Heights, Ohio, died peacefully at home, in the presence of her family, on May 30. Her death was caused by ovarian cancer, which she fought with grace, courage, and dignity for more than four years.

Born in Massillon, Ohio, Patricia earned bachelor's, master's and Ph.D. degrees from The Ohio State University - at roughly ten year intervals, as she enjoyed pointing out, because she was combining graduate school education with parenting. Her doctorate was an unusual multidisciplinary degree reflecting two of her lifelong passions: history and urban planning. Her doctoral thesis was turned into a book, Planning for the Private Interest, published by The Ohio State University Press. After receiving her Ph.D., Patricia pursued an academic career, first at the University of Texas-Arlington, and then at Iowa State University, where she became a tenured faculty member.

After marrying John Shelley and moving back to Northeast Ohio, Patricia earned her fourth academic degree, a J.D. from Case Western Reserve University, and practiced law at Thompson Hine LLP for five years. She also became a civic activist of the best sort, heavily involved with her church, the League of Women Voters of Shaker Heights, the Housing Research and Advocacy Center, and Family Promise of Greater Cleveland, among others.

Throughout her life, Patricia was an Anglophile of the first order (her father was British) and, somewhat coincidentally, a proud "cradle Episcopalian" who loved her church and lived her life as an expression of her broad, inclusive and sympathetic faith. She grew up in "St. Tim's" in Massillon; was an active parishioner at St. John's Church in Worthington during her 20-plus years in the Columbus area; and did anything and everything and then some at Christ Church, Shaker Heights, in the last twenty years of her life. Her years at St. John's Episcopal Church in Ames, Iowa, involved less time and fewer responsibilities, but had great consequences. On a Sunday morning in July of 1993, a guy named John Shelley - on a visit to his parents - went to church with them and looked up from his service leaflet to see an amazingly beautiful woman (Patricia) reading one of the lessons. The record will show that John and Patricia had one of their very few disagreements about the speed and zeal with which John pursued the reader in question, but it will also show that they married in December, 1994 and could not have had a happier and more rewarding marriage.

Patricia is survived by her loving husband, John F. Shelley; son Marc Stach (Amy) of Colleyville, Texas; stepsons Jack (Jessica) of Shaker Heights and Joseph of Boise, Idaho; five grandchildren (Caitlyn, Allison, and Ethan Shelley, and Anna and Luke Stach); sister Helen Carr of Fort Worth, Texas; nephews Charles Shaver of Cypress, Texas, and James Smith-Burgess of Pocatello, Idaho; niece Brigitte Sanow (Jamie) of Idaho Falls, Idaho; husband's brother Stephen D. Shelley (Janine) of Whidbey Island, Washington; and former spouse, Paul Stach (Beatriz), of Plymouth, Minnesota. Patricia's brother, Joseph Charles Burgess, predeceased her.

Memorial gifts may be directed to the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, 11100 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106-5065; the League of Women Voters of Greater Cleveland, P.O. Box 201084, Shaker Heights, OH 44120; The Housing Research and Advocacy Center, 2728 Euclid Avenue, Suite 200, Cleveland, OH 44115; or Christ Episcopal Church, 3445 Warrensville Center Road, Shaker Heights, OH 44122, where funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 7.



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