Patricia Laws

Patricia Laws died on Mother’s Day from complications after a stroke. Born Patricia Ann Tanner on January 25, 1950, on a farm in Skaneateles, New York, she carried the resilience of that early life into everything that followed. A proud member of Skaneateles High School’s Class of ’68, she went on to build a long and devoted career as an elementary school teacher in the Hudson, New Hampshire schools–first at H.O. Smith and later at Hills Garrison–shaping young minds with equal parts patience, humor, and high expectations.

Her untimely death brings deep sorrow to Michael, her husband of 53 years, who now stands without his safe harbor, and to the family she built and loved so fiercely. She is survived by her children: Amanda and her partner, Patrick, and their sons, Lukas and Bowie; Brandon and his partner, Sophia, and their daughters, Reese and Billie; and Elizabeth and her partner, John. She is also survived by her sister and best friend, Joan, who called her “PattiAnn.” Together, they are the living echo of her quiet, unwavering strength and the fortitude that shaped her life.

Nobody, especially Michael, expected Pat to beat him to the Gate. If there is any solace in her passing, it lies in imagining the heaven she would choose: an Ocean State Job Lot one very corner, a perpetual two-for-one sale waiting to be discovered, and a fresh game of Wordle glowing on a screen. Of course, there would be gardens, coaxed year after year into glorious bloom.

If self-fulfillment is the measure of a life’s success, Patricia was wildly successful–her days measured in grit, humor, and, most assuredly, heart. Having escaped a troubled family life at an early age, she built one defined by steadiness, modesty, and love. Much love.

She leaves behind a now rudderless family, many friends whose lives were brightened by her loyalty and warmth, and countless students who no doubt remember her fondly–even those who may have occasionally tested the outer limits of Mrs. Laws’s patience.

She left us far too early, and the space she so easily filled now feels impossibly empty. Yet her memory moves with us, softening the sharp edges of grief as time allows.

Godspeed, Pat. You are missed.

Arrangements are entrusted to Rochette Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 21 Kinsley Street, Nashua. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.ANCTIL-ROCHETTE.com