Patricia Edith, 1945-2024

January 20, 1945 – August 17, 2024

Patricia Edith led a very eclectic life.  She grew up in Chicago and after high school she danced in a small contemporary ballet company, The Wishnee Dancers. After developing osteoarthritis in her knees and not being able to dance, she moved to Iowa, participated in anti-war and radical feminist groups, and was a founding member of Ain’t I A Woman , a Women’s Liberation newspaper. Moving to San Francisco she joined the recovery movement, and at her death she had been clean and sober for 44 years. She worked as an administrative assistant at the State Bar of California for 20 years. During that time, she published her first book of poetry and gave many poetry readings. She also helped establish a union at the State Bar and was a shop steward and chair of the union committee.

Once she retired, she became the Literary Director at the Frank Bette Center for the Arts for a few years. She co-curated solo and group shows and published two more books of poetry.  She had two solo art shows at the Frank Bette Center and one solo show at the Pinball Museum in Alameda.

Patricia was devoted to helping alcoholics get and stay sober. She thought the world could be better than it was. And that we could be better than we are.

She is survived by a wonderful family—her brother and his wife, Dick and Diane Norwood; her niece and her husband, Jennifer and Dave Goeppner and their two daughters, Kacie and Anna; and her nephew and his wife, Paul and Stephanie Norwood.

A celebration of Patricia’s life will be held at the Frank Bette Center for the Arts, 1601 Paru Street, Alameda, on Saturday, September 28, 2024, 1-3 p.m.

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