Patricia Anne (Pat) Bennett Ryan

Patricia Anne Bennett was born on March 6, 1929, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the only child of Eugene Francis Bennett and Lena Anastasia Burns.



She attended Incarnation Catholic grade school, St. Margaret’s Academy high school, and the College of St. Catherine’s, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in English, with a minor in French.



Pat was married on December 29, 1951, and had five children. Her first baby died shortly after birth. Most important in her life was the love of her children.



Pat was a high school teacher before she married, and during her lifetime volunteered as a Brownie Girl Scout leader, a member of the League of Women Voters and a reading tutor through the Literacy Council.



Pat was very intelligent, with a sense of humor and competitive spirit. She loved playing contract bridge, Scrabble and Chinese Checkers and watching her favorite game shows, Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. Idioms were a part of her speech. Her favorite was “It’s like Grand Central Station in here!”



Pat loved bargain shopping at garage sales, estate sales, antique stores and QVC.



She collected china, silver and glassware, and set a beautiful table on holidays. Every birthday and holiday was remembered with a carefully selected greeting card, written in tiny, perfect penmanship.



She loved sweets, especially chocolate, orange slices and thin mints. She would request “just a sliver” of dessert, noting, “It doesn’t have any calories.”



In 1977, she moved to Omaha, Nebraska, where she reinvented herself as a real estate agent and later a cruise agent for The Cruise Company. Her work in the travel industry inspired family members to take adventures of their own. Her children and grandchildren enjoyed traveling with her on cruises to the Caribbean and Alaska.



As a Catholic, her faith meant much to her. She was a member of Mary Our Queen Catholic Church in Omaha.



In her later years, Pat researched genealogy with her children and grandchildren, and was proud of her French and Irish heritage. She cared for her mother’s twin, Lillian Burns, moving her to Omaha.



Thank you to her caregivers who became part of the family, and to her doctors and nurses.



Pat is survived by children Kathy (Dan) Sullivan, Omaha; Anne (Jack) Gauer, Billings, MT; Jim Ryan, Omaha, NE; Julie (Rob) Ryan-Silva, Silver Spring, MD; and grandchildren Danny, Eileen (Dave Cormier), John and Bob Sullivan; Jon and Shannon Gauer; Isabel and Bobby Ryan-Silva.



In Lieu of Flowers, Memorials may be made to the Mary Our Queen Human Needs Committee.



A Celebration of Life will take place at a later date. Please email jryansilva@yahoo.com to be notified.





















John A. Gentleman Mortuaries and Crematory

1010 North 72 Street

Omaha, Nebraska 68114

402-391-1664

www.johnagentleman.com