Patricia Ann "Pam" Maille

Shushan Patricia Ann "Pam" (McDonald) Maille, 59, passed away peacefully Friday, July 4, 2008, at the Glens Falls Hospital with her beloved husband, Paul, and her beloved sister-in-law, Mary Remsen, by her side. Pam was born on March 15, 1949 in Glens Falls to Earl and Elizabeth (Williams) McDonald of Argyle. Pam was a devoted wife and mother. Her daughter, Alison, was the love of her life that she would do anything for with the utmost love and devotion. They spent countless hours together talking, going on trips and, most recently, walking through Alaska's National Parks in the summer of 2006. She was the loving and devoted wife of her husband, Paul, whom she married on Sept. 5, 1970. They had 37 years of love and devotion to each other. Pam is described by her husband as the closest thing to an angel on Earth. Pam graduated from Argyle Central School in 1967 with a Regents diploma and later attended computer school in Albany. She began working with General Electric Co. as a keypunch operator in 1968 and eventually became the senior systems analyst for the small capacitors division. Pam retired in 2003 after 36 years of service. She was a master gardener whose flower gardens along the Batten Kill River in Shushan and around her home were admired by many people. She was a member of the Hudson River Day Lily Society and went on many garden tours with her mom and numerous friends over the years. She had a great love of literature and was a voracious reader. Pam was a master seamstress who made most of her own clothes, suits for her husband, and clothes for her daughter before her illness disabled her. Pam was on the original board of the Georgi Museum in Shushan, where she tended the flower beds and acted as the museum's historian. Pam was also a communicant of the Holy Cross Church in Salem and attended St. Patrick's from time to time in Cambridge. Pam should most be remembered for her unfailing love and devotion to her family, especially her daughter, whom she loved more than life itself. Her family will long cherish the many wonderful memories from family gatherings and trips around the tri-state area. Her infant sister, Melissa McDonald passed away a year after birth and her brother, Christopher J. McDonald passed away Jan. 14, 2008. Besides her parents, husband and daughter, Alison M. Dawson and her husband, Adrian, of Fort Wainwright, Alaska, Pam is also survived by her sister, Carolyn Pfeiffer and her husband Fred of Virginia Beach, Va.; her nieces, Carolyn Peterson of Champagne, Ill., Laura Joy Mellott of Virginia Beach, Va. and Kimberly Remsen of Hudson Falls; her grand-nephews include: Noah Peterson of Champagne, Ill., Noah and Chase Mellott, both of Virginia Beach, Va. Friends may call from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 8, 2008, at the M.B. Kilmer Funeral Home, 82 Broadway, Fort Edward. Funeral Services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Wednesday, July 9, 2008, at the funeral home. The rite of committal will follow at the Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery. Donations may be made in Pam's memory to the "pH" Pulmonary Hypertension Association, 801 Roeder Road, Suite 400, Silver Springs, MD 20910 for the cure of pulmonary hypertension, which she suffered from in her final months. Donations may also be made to the American Cancer Society, Mount Royal Plaza, 959 state Route 9, Queensbury, NY 12804 for the prevention and cure of breast cancer. Paul would also like to thank the tremendous effort put forth by the Easton-Greenwich Rescue Squad, the emergency room staff at Glens Falls Hospital, especially Dr. Miles and "Joe" the respiratory specialist, the entire CCU staff, and Dr. Surendra Nevatia for their tireless efforts to save Pam's life.

This obituary was originally published in the Post Star.