Obituary of Patricia B. Webster

Patricia Webster, 77—mother, grandmother, sister, beloved friend and lifelong lover of music, books and education—died February 11, 2015, in Loudonville with her family by her side. Pat was born July 16, 1937, in Earlville, NY, to Dr. Allan P. and Helen (Jones) Bradley. She grew up in Cobleskill and Buffalo, where she graduated from LaFayette High School. After earning a degree in English from Syracuse University in 1959, Pat and her then-husband Donald Webster, a music teacher, moved to Athens, OH, for his graduate studies. The couple moved to East Greenbush in 1961, and in 1970 to Guilderland. A city girl at heart, after raising her four sons, Pat moved to Albany. After earning her Master of Library Science degree from the University of Albany in 1971, Pat worked as a School Library Media Specialist at Colonie Central High School. In 1986, she followed her father's footsteps into the NY State Education Department, where she served first in the Bureau of School Libraries, and later on the curriculum team for K-12 education. Like her father, she traveled extensively throughout New York in support of public schools, and could boast that wherever she was in the State, she was never more than 20 minutes away from a hot meal and a warm bed at the home of one of her many friends and education colleagues. She retired in 2005. Pat was a member of the American Library Association and the New York Library Association, and held leadership positions in the latter. She was also a member of Trinity United Methodist Church, Albany, and a lifelong church choir member. She loved attending choral and symphony concerts, traveling to visit her children, grandchildren, extended family and many friends, and spending time at the cottage she designed and had built on Sodus Bay. Pat is survived by her sister, Marcia Bradley of Concord, MA; two brothers, Allan Paul Jr. and his wife Linda Bradley of Lake George, and Charles Bradley of Delmar; four sons, Richard and his wife Sherry of Herndon, VA, Douglas of Merritt Island, FL, Christopher of Sacramento, CA, and Scott of Schenectady; and six grandchildren, Ian, Kristin, Matthew, Jenna, Bradford and Juliana. A memorial service will be held Monday, February 16, at 1 PM at First United Methodist Church, Delmar. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Lewy Body Dementia Association, 912 Killian Hill Road, S.W. Lilburn, GA 30047.