Patricia Davitt

Patricia Davitt, 90 years old, passed away on November 11, 2021, at the New Jersey Eastern Star Home in Bridgewater, New Jersey. Pat, as Patricia was known, was born in Orange, NJ, the sixth child of Hazen E. and Delia (Quigley) Thurber. She attended St. Rose of Lima Grammar School and West Side High School, both in Newark, NJ. She wanted to be a lawyer but, being the sixth child born to her parents during the Great Depression, there was not enough money for her to pursue that dream. Instead, she attended Presbyterian School of Nursing in Newark and became a Registered Nurse. She usually worked in the Labor and Delivery Department and enjoyed helping bring newborns into the world. She fondly remembered a German doctor who, every time he delivered a baby, held it up in the air and said, “Another miracle!” She felt the same way. She met Daniel W. Davitt at McGovern’s Tavern in Newark, NJ, and they both knew that night that they had met the person they wanted to marry. They eloped to Arlington, VA, then returned to live many years in Essex County, NJ. They moved to Clark, NJ, in 1963. Some years after her dear spouse, Dan, died in 2016, she moved to Somerville, NJ, to live with her daughter and son-in-law. She and Dan didn’t really enjoy vacations at the beach. Instead, they enjoyed driving across America and visiting historic sights. She was especially fond of trips to New Hampshire, where her father was born, and a trip to Ireland to see where her mother and father-in-law were born. Pat loved Rock & Roll music. She bought Elvis Presley’s first RCA album (of course, not the valuable one the year before on the Sun label). She loved to dance! At family weddings, Pat showed off her dancing skills as “The Dancing Queen”, a name she certainly embraced. She also loved songs from many classic Broadway plays. She was well-known for singing, “I’m getting married in the morning” from “My Fair Lady” to the staff at the nursing home. She loved her family dearly. She especially enjoyed the annual family reunions (usually hosted by her son and his wife) which both her and her husband’s family members attended. She was an avid Yankee fan all her life, first listening to their games on the radio while she ironed. She loved reading true murder books. She claimed that she liked how the detectives figured out who the murderer was. Her husband suggested that, if he died under mysterious circumstances, to point out all the murder books in the bookcase to the detectives. She also loved walking, doing crossword puzzles, playing Scrabble, and watching ballet. She loved animals, especially her two collies, Princess and Tara. Flowers (especially roses) were a great love of hers and she had a beautiful vegetable garden for many years. She was predeceased by her parents, siblings Olive Immesberger (John Sr.), Terence Thurber (Eileen), Winnie Daum (William Sr.), Harold, and Judith Cook (Charlie). She was the devoted mother of Mrs. Kathryn Peters (Tom) of Somerville, NJ, and Mr. Daniel Davitt Jr. (Deb) of Hampton, NJ, beloved grandmother of Kelly Ryan (Kirk) of Quakertown, PA, Daniel Ryan Davitt of Hampton, NJ, and step-grandson Paul Peters of Somerville, NJ, cherished great-grandmother of Luke Ryan and Connor Ryan, loved sister-in-law of Barbara Thurber, George Davitt (Barbara), Dennis Davitt, Debbie Parks (Charles), Robert McDonough (Lori), Diane Frankenfield (Tom), aunt to many loved nieces and nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews, and a very special former neighbor, Rita Prisco, who was like a second daughter to her. Gathering with the family will be 2:00 – 5:00 PM, Sunday, November 14, 2021, at Hagan-Chamberlain Funeral Home, 225 Mountain Ave., Bound Brook. Services will begin 9:15 AM, Monday, November 15, 2021, at the funeral home, followed by a 10:00 AM funeral mass at St. Joseph Church, Bound Brook. Burial will follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, 225 Ridgedale Ave., East Hanover, NJ. Memorial donations may be made to The New Jersey Eastern Star Home, 111 Finderne Ave., Bridgewater, NJ 08807, for a luncheon for the wonderful staff who took care of Pat these past few years. Please specify that on the check.