31 July 2026 · 2026-07 newsletter
Edith Patricia Pate (Pat) and her husband Terry moved with their children to Australia from South Africa in 1980. They had been heavily involved in Schoenstatt while living in South Africa – Terry, with Pat’s support and presence, helped to build the Shrine in Johannesburg. They joined the Schoenstatt Movement here in Australia as part of the Coenaculum Family Group.
Pat and Terry were not only part of the Family Branch, but active and valued members of our movement. They represented the Family Branch on the Central Inspiration Team (CIT) for over 10 years. At the same time, they often presented input at national conferences and other Schoenstatt formation days and regularly attended Covenant Sundays. For some years this meant travelling each month from the Central Coast until advancing age and ill health prevented them from continuing their specific involvement.
Pat has not been in good health for the past three years and during that time, Terry has cared for her until April this year when she moved into Starrett Lodge where she could have full-time care.
Pat died on 16th June and her funeral took place on Wednesday 24th June at their parish church of St. Mary of the Cross Mackillop, Warnervale. The Church was filled with not only their family members, but parishioners, friends of Terry and Pat and Schoenstatt members. Pat surely enjoyed from heaven the community she was able to bring together!
Below are some excerpts from the Eulogies given by her four daughters and one of her nine grandchildren. We think these say better than anything else, who Pat was and what she meant to her family and to all those who called her a friend.
May Pat now rest in Peace and may our Blessed Mother keep her in her tender care.
Please continue to pray for Terry, their family and friends as they mourn the loss of Pat.
Extracts from the Eulogies at Pat Pate’s funeral – by her 4 daughters and 1 granddaughter
Juliet:
I would like to read a tribute to our Mum that our cousin, Mel, wrote. Mel has known my mother longer than any of us. It is a beautiful tribute and captures our mother exactly.
My Aunty Pat was a shining light in my life from the day I was born – on her twelfth birthday. She was dependable, reliable, and loyal to a fault. Her generosity knew no bounds. She taught me to see the good in others and more besides, was always welcoming and made me feel special. She loved her daughters dearly and was immensely proud of them and their achievements. They and her grandchildren brought her tremendous joy. Most of all, she loved Terry and knew a kinder and more steadfast mate she couldn’t have found. Though I will miss her more than words can say, I will carry her with me forever in my heart.
Our Mum had many friends, people she loved, and people who loved her, of all ages, across continents, in all circumstances. She made a community everywhere she went. This was very important to her. She was kind, good intentioned, and generous to the people she met. It was sometimes hard to keep up with her, her sense of humour got her into trouble at times but as soon as she realised something had gone awry, our mother was the first to try and make it right. She was a strong believer in good communication being the key to successful partnerships and she believed in trying until she got it right.
She was a strong woman with a determination to create a beautiful family. She and Dad were married a few weeks shy of 62 years before she died, and she loved Dad more than anything. She used to tell us that she had ideas, but she needed Dad to give her the confidence to carry them out. Dad’s love and steadfast loyalty to Mum was priceless to her.
Juliet shared a long list of things she thanked her mother for. Here is just one of them:
- Thank you for showing me that updating your opinion based on new information is possible. Mum was a woman of strong convictions, yet she often listened to us and her grandchildren and updated her ideas based on modern information right into her 80s, a skill and a gift.
I’m going to miss my Mum for the rest of my days. She has been such a large part of me in everything I do: loving my family, my friends, laughing a lot, rising to a social occasion, all her traditions firmly entrenched in our lives. This is our mother’s legacy. She sometimes wished she’d done something more consequential with her life but in reality, her influence will be felt by all of us in very important ways for a long time. Mum had a long and full life and we are celebrating it.
Claire:
Mom embraced life with enthusiasm and commitment, contending fear and the unknown with a brave heart. Even if she didn’t always think so herself, we – her family, especially in recent times – watched and knew it.
That she sometimes moved forward to the detriment of her own health is also part of her legacy. It is both an inspiration and a warning, and one that she would be fully prepared to face. Discussing topics of great import with humour, practical wisdom, and personal references is a memory of Mom that I will hold for forever.
Mom’s sense of social justice was formative for me.
We grew up expecting to see Mom act on behalf of anyone who needed her help. And living in South Africa gave her many opportunities to do so. She was famous for raising funds for a project with jumble sales or picking up three trolly loads of footballs to ‘on sell’. We made a caterpillar line at the checkout: Jules on cart 1 and 2, me on cart 2 and 3, Meri struggling with the back end of cart 3 and Ro, barely walking, shoved in amongst the footballs…somewhere.
Mom was not always an easy person, what she was… was determined… determined to create rather than accept the world as it is…. She saw life as a continuing work, unfinished by any one person. A great journey to take and revel in. and her journey hasn’t finished; it is carried on by all of us. Her community.
These are memories that make me feel very close to my mother.
We are very different people in many ways, but we are also remarkably alike.
We are filled to the brim with the things we care about.
We believe in the goodness and potential of people.
We see possibilities where others see obstacles.
And we face this scary, bright and exciting world with courage.
Mom spent her life looking for a better version of the day she had been given. She spent her life helping to build her own little piece of Jerusalem. And because she did, that work continues.
Mom, I am carrying on our journey.
Meredith
You know my mother wanted the world for her girls, in fact she wanted everything for us, every opportunity that she didn’t have in her world growing up.
That’s how her decisions and drive were focused, she put all her effort and resources into giving us skills and experiences which would last us a lifetime.
So, for me, I see what is left now she is gone – her four irreplaceable daughters. She would have seen that as her greatest and most worthwhile achievement.
My Mother exposed us to art, ancient history, theatre, creative play, sewing, music, speech and drama. We all had an amazing education. She was determined we would all swim, do girl guides, have home sewn formal dresses, attend a debut ball, have careers, and with all of that, being wrapped up in being “good people” faith filled, upstanding contributors to our communities. In essence, she wanted us to touch the world as talented and creative, capable beings so we could thrive in our worlds and have the best chance at happiness.
Mum. Rest easy. Your job is done. You can go now into the warm loving embrace of your Heavenly Father, your beloved deceased family and be happy. Without pain, fear and worry.
I know you are fine now. And that’s all that matters to me really.
Roanne:
Mum had a fraught, often highly insecure childhood. She had fearful memories of those times that she would sometimes allude to, but always with the swift rider in the form of a story about her father’s love for her. She felt deeply loved by both her parents. And she reflected often on their struggles – trying to understand, particularly her father, to piece it all together.
I think this is what forged in her a bone deep, visceral compassion for the fallible nature of human beings. One of her most ardent sayings was ‘There but for the grace of God go I”. When she converted to Catholicism, initially because she was marrying dad – she embraced it, you guessed it, 100%.
Her faith, I think, made sense of her life experiences of the tragedy of the human condition and gave her a light to follow. She developed a deep and abiding connection to Our Lady.
Coming to Australia in 1980 was a culture shock for us all, and especially for mum. She’d just left South Africa in the midst of apartheid where she’d moved heaven and earth (or more accurately run garage-sales, chicken sales, football sales, and various other fundraising activities, as well as strong-armed the appropriate authorities) to get a house built for Angelina our housekeeper and her six children, who had until then been living in someone else’s kitchen in the township Tembisa.
So initially there was a culture shock adjusting to Australia (safe trains? neighborhood watch?) but mum loved Australia – and true to form, she set about forging new communities. The church, of course (the various churches, and Schoenstatt) and many, many friends. In fact, mum (with her rock, Dad), were so good at fostering community, at welcoming people into their life, that I used to joke that every time I went to visit them after I left home, there would be another tribe of people that I’d never met before invited to the gathering.
As time went on and everything else fell away, family remained the most important thing in Mum’s life. She really just wanted to be with us. Dad cared for mum for 3 years at home, which allowed her to feel secure and enveloped in the love of her family, particularly after her heart operation. And mum didn’t think it was too bad either, that he took over all the cooking, washing and life admin! I do remember asking her if she wanted to make something in the kitchen with me. No! She immediately said.
She didn’t like moving into Starrett Lodge in April this year, but she accepted it. The ladies at her table warmed to her smile, the staff loved her wry humour, and we saw again her strength of character. One of the last things mum said to me was “You don’t have to worry about me!”
Dying is hard work, it turns out. But mum was courageous. In the very way she died, mum showed us how it’s done. I am so proud of her.
Mum, you lived a good, full life. You were a bundle of nerves, a fish out of water, an action hero, a guardian angel whisperer. A reader, and adventurer. A migraine sufferer, a staunch defender. You were chocolate cakes, fish cakes, granny’s chicken and shepherd’s pie. parsnips, brussel sprouts, a nice cup of tea, homeopathic drops. You had the absolute best smile and a look that could kill, the strength of ten, and a heart that loved to soar in song. You had four girls, nine grandchildren, a good dozen beloved pets, and countless friends. You had our Lady, and most of all, your beloved, Terry. A good, full life.
Mum, as you once said to me, It’s time for you to rest now.
Nina
On behalf of all the grandchildren. (Dani, Jacob, Will, Holly, Nina, Blake, Megan, Greta and Maia)
I have to say, we are not surprised in the slightest to see how many people are here today. Because Granny brought people together. That was Granny’s favourite thing, community and family, being together
When we think of her, we think of our guardian angel. We knew we could be whoever we wanted to be and try many different things along the way, and she’d always support us. She was our cheer squad, always on our team, no matter the niche hobby or distance to travel. At every opportunity from choir concerts, theatre productions, confirmations, graduations, she was always there for us. She was so excited to see the people we were becoming.
She knew how to have fun, she was so playful, which must have been why she had so much patience for us, as we demolished that house. When we pulled all the blankets and pillows off all the beds and couches and even pulled off whole mattresses to build forts that started in the living room, went via the dining table and then up the passage, she would open the linen cupboard, reach up to the top shelf to get us some more.
She took us to all sorts of shows, theatre, ballet, museums… She wanted us to have the experiences that she might not have always had. She instilled in us big dreams and the confidence to go after them.
When we think of Granny, we think of God, and her commitment to her faith, which she shared with us. Blake was always up very early in the mornings, and he would see Granny and Grandpa taking turns, reading the bible together. And after decades of praying the rosary with Granny, Grandpa led us in praying the rosary last week, while Blake and I were visiting Granny.
And so, when we think of Granny, we think of our Grandpa, and her four daughters, all of whom we all love just so much. And I think of my cousins, who I’ve had the blessing of growing up with. It was so much fun. Granny brought our family together, and we will always have that.
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