Affectionately called "Petie" by those who knew and loved her, Patricia Peterson Lang, passed away Sept. 30, 2023 as she had wished, at peace in the familiar surroundings of her home in Viera FL. She was 85 and had been under intensive medical care for many years, fighting the good fight against multiple sclerosis first diagnosed in 1982, breast cancer, the loss of both legs and, in the end, a malfunctioning aortic valve. Death was attributed to congestive heart failure.

Surviving the matriarch of the Lang family are husband, Douglas; sons Kent (Gina) of DeLand and Dean (Susan) of Fernandina Beach; grandsons Noah of Orlando and Tyler (Sky) of Brunswick GA; granddaughters Nicole of Tallahassee and Courtney of Brunswick GA; sister-in-law Nancy Jepsen of Rockledge; great-grandchildren Madison Hall and Rylee Lang of Georgia; and guardianship ward Kevin Langford of DeLand.

Pat, as she became known to many, was born Feb. 24, 1938, in Buffalo NY Memorial Hospital. Her mother and father -- Carolyne, 89, and John Peterson, 95, of West Seneca NY and later Florida – preceded her in death.

Throughout her childhood school days, Pat believed her legal name to be Patricia Joan Peterson, because that's what her parents told her and that's what her report cards said. Years later she would discover her birth certificate bore no middle name or initial.

Her public schooling was begun at Gardenville School in suburban Buffalo. There she met Audrey Walther, a fellow first-grader destined to become a lifelong friend. Joined by other new companions Diana Steinberg and Dorine Keklak, the foursome became inseparable. As teenagers, Pat and Audrey spent many happy times together at West Seneca Central High School and, as young ladies, at the State Ag/Tech Institute in Alfred NY Class of '57. Socially, both were active in J.U.G'S (don't ask) and Pi Nu Epsilon sorority. Inasmuch as their dorm had a profusion of women named Pat, and just one phone per floor, callers heard her summoned to pick up as Petie, a nickname that stuck.

In addition to being classmates, the girls worshipped together at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Gardenville. Petie and Doug were married there, on Aug. 26, 1961 – one year after Audrey wed Bill Gilbert, a pal of Doug's ever since their Kindergarten days at P.S. 63. The Gilberts had formally introduced Miss Peterson to Mr. Lang to begin with, in May 1958, and they fittingly stood in the wedding as matron of honor and best man.

A woman of deep and abiding faith, Petie religiously read her large-print Bible and a daily devotional right up to confronting life's end, despite failing eyesight and having to rely on electronic visual devices that displayed enlarged images on her TV screen. "Religion is an important part of my life," she stated in an autobiography written in college. "I believe that God is the Supreme Power, and that whatever happens to us in life has a good reason set forth by Him."

Early on, while playing with paper dolls, she decided to become a dress designer, and she proceeded to become an accomplished seamstress whose creations included her own wedding dress, as well as Audrey's.  Another of her childhood interests was music. She didn't particularly like to play her half-size violin but did like being a part of the orchestra. Also among her passions was acting. After being chosen for leading roles in the senior class play in both her junior and senior years, she was voted to be the school's best actress.

In their 62 years of marriage, the Langs moved quite a bit, especially in the early days. In order, they established households in  Portales NM (1961), Penfield NY (1963), Albuquerque NM (1964), Ellensburg WA where son Kent was born in 1966, The Plains OH (1968) and Miami FL where son Dean was born in 1970. In the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew, they relocated upstate to Winter Haven in 1993, ultimately settling in Viera in 1999.

Career-wise, Pat held an Associate Degree with specialization in medical secretarial science. Her full-time employment experience was with General Mills, H.O. Lehman M.D., Bausch & Lomb, American Furniture Co. and Ohio University. There were plenty of part-time and volunteer gigs, too – mostly low key and behind the scenes. One with perhaps the highest visibility dealt with her writer-husband's general-interest newspaper column in FLORIDA TODAY. On occasion, she received credit in print for "proofreading by the former Patricia Peterson of West Seneca NY."

Hopes and dreams of the proofreader-to-be were spelled out in the aforementioned autobiography, likely composed near the end of the 1957 school year, shortly before meeting Doug. It said: "I hope to be happily married to someone with whom I can share a mutual and lasting love. This, to me, is supreme happiness. I do not expect my husband to be the world's best. I just want him to love me, to be willing to take good care of me and of our children, and to cooperate in every way to make our marriage a success. I know I shall do everything in my power to keep him happy and to earn his lasting love. I wish to have as many children as God and financial circumstances allow because I think it is more of a sin to have children and not be able to administer proper care to them than not to have any at all. I only pray that my husband and I will, with God's help, be as wonderful to our children as my parents are to me. If all of my hopes are fulfilled, I truly shall be one of the happiest people on God's earth."

A funeral service is scheduled for November 2, 2023 at 1pm at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery, 5525 U.S. Hwy 1, Mims.

Arrangements were made by Davis Seawinds Funeral Home of Melbourne. An online Guest Book is available at www.davisseawinds.com.