April 24, 1943 – February 9, 2020
Patricia A. Sanders passed away on Sunday, February 9, 2020 in Phoenix, Arizona at the age of 87. She is preceded in death by both of her parents (Jacqueline Daley) and step father (Timothy Gardner, both of Pennsylvania), her first husband, Howard Leslie Mitchell, born in Fort Worth, Texas) her second husband, Thomas Freeman Sanders,(Born in Charleston, Mississippi) and her eldest son, Timothy Howard Mitchell (born in Tripoli, Libya in 1960 with a twin, Patricia Timm) and died in 2015 at 45.
Pat’s death came quickly after a brief battle with an internal infection. It came as a surprise and a shock to everyone. She spent her last two winters with her partner, Philip Sullivan, in Phoenix after being together for some 15 years. They were looking forward to returning to Hamilton, Montana soon, where Pat spent her last 20+ years finishing her degrees, practicing law and serving as the City of Hamilton Judge for seven years. Prior to moving to Montana, she lived in Anchorage and Eagle River, Alaska and raised her five children.
She lived a rich and adventure-filled life. She was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, as an only child, graduated from high school and then joined the U.S. Air Force. Her first assignment was in Great Falls, Montana where she met and married Howard Mitchell. They had five children over the span of seven years: (1st set of twins) Jackie Winter, Susan Johnson-Simeroth; (2nd set of twins) Pat Timms and Timothy Mitchell (deceased); and (the “single” child) John Mitchell. Her husband was stationed in many overseas assignments including Istanbul, Turkey and Tripoli, Libya, but, in between the overseas assignments, there were stateside assignments to Biloxi and Columbus, Mississippi. His final assignment was an overseas placement in Anchorage, Alaska where Pat remained until the mid 1980’s. Shortly after Howard’s military retirement, they were divorced, and she began working full time for the Air National Guard and also at several law firms, while taking her first college courses!
Within the next few years, she dated some, suffering the teasing and jokes played on her by her children as well as Tom’s two children. Despite all that, she continued to date and married Thomas Sanders. They traveled and enjoyed life which included his two children, Margie Willis and Thomas Freeman Sanders, Jr. Unfortunately, after only five years of marriage, Tom suffered a heart attack and died. So, at age 55, Pat was alone again; so, she packed her bags, sold her house and moved to Bellingham, WA, to return to school and complete her Bachelors degree. This prompted her to move to Montana and attend UofMT. She graduated with a Masters in Speech AND a Law Degree in Speech and Communication. She began a law firm (Sanders and Heller) where she practiced until she was appointed to be the Hamilton City Judge. She retired after seven years.
She was a member of several organizations, Soroptimists and Lions Club, to name a few.
She was dedicated to her life partner, Phil Sullivan, a long time Montanan. They joined the Good Sams Club and camped for several years in their motorhome. Then they settled down back in Hamilton, MT, and spent winters in Arizona.
She will be sorely missed! A community celebration of her life is planned for March 26th at the Spiritual Life Church, across from Hamilton High School at 2 p.m. Everyone is encouraged to wear PURPLE!
Susan Johnson says
Thanks for my mom’s obituary!