Obituary of Patricia June Oburchay

Patricia (Pat, Patty, Trixie, Mom, Grammy, Grambo, Big O) June Dunham Oburchay, 93, of Stratford, passed away peacefully at home on March 27, 2020, after a long illness. Patricia was born in Worcester, MA on November 24, 1926. She grew up in Wellesley Hills, MA, and attended Dana Hall. As a young accomplished pianist, she had the honor of appearing with the Boston Pops. She later studied music at Radcliffe College where, due to war time combined classes, she was proudly one of the first women to take her tests on the Harvard University letter head. In 1948 she moved to Bridgeport CT, where she married and raised her family. She was not only a loving homemaker, but also an intrepid traveler, who reveled in visiting different countries, learning about different cultures, meeting new people, and collecting priceless memories and trinkets from all of her expeditions. She loved the piano, and throughout her life her friends and family were graced with the beauty of her music at her home, where everyone was welcome, at United Congregational Church, where she played every Maundy Thursday service for years, at the Patterson Club, where she and her friends put on many member cabarets, and anywhere she could sit at a piano. Patricia was a gracious, glamorous, and gifted hostess, who made everyone she met feel like family. Her New Years’ Eve Open House and Fourth of July parties were the stuff of legend. And she could make even a small family dinner feel like a celebration, complete with passed hors d’oeuvres, candlelight, and most definitely fancy cocktails. Patricia was a long-time member of the Patterson Club, the Black Rock Yacht Club, Fayerweather Yacht Club, the Algonquin Club and The Contemporary Club. She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Philanthropic Educational Organization (PEO). She was a Life Deacon at the United Congregational Church, and in later years, considered Greenfield Hill Congregational Church her spiritual home. She was the world’s best cheerleader for her family and friends, and tolerated (and some might say welcomed) all shenanigans of her family – she often asked to be remembered as a “really good sport,” which, of course, she was. Patricia was pre-deceased by her parents Earl and Charlotte Dunham, her brother Robert Dunham, and her husband, Richard F. Oburchay. She is survived by her beloved cat, Lily, her daughter, Laurie Oburchay and Laurie’s partner Bob Walsh, her son Christopher Oburchay and his wife Jeanine, her grandson Sean Harrigan, her granddaughter Meaghan (Harrigan) Nelson and Meaghan’s husband Tim, and several nieces and nephews. She also leaves behind her best friend Dee, whose Sunday visits over the New York Times and politics were a reliable source of great conversation and punditry, as well as joy and comfort for Pat. The Oburchays are so grateful to the nurses, nurses’ assistants, and doctors at St. Vincent’s Hospital, the staff and management at the Carolton Convalescent Hospital, the hospice nurses at Hartford Health Care, and the home health care aides at Home Sweet Home and Turtle Dove who took such loving care of Patricia in the last year. Funeral services and interment in Oak Lawn Cemetery will be held privately. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to: The Appalachian Service Project or Friends of Christ in India, c/o: Greenfield Hill Congregational Church, 1045 Old Academy Road, Fairfield, CT 06824 (www.greenfieldhillchurch.com). To sign her guest register, please visit www.LeskoPolkeFuneralHome.com