Patricia van Ameringen Kind

1924 - 2016

Patricia Kind of Huntingdon Valley Patricia van Ameringen Kind was born October 21, 1924 and raised in South Orange New Jersey, the middle daughter of Arnold Lewis van Ameringen, and Hedwig Pfaltz van Ameringen. She attended Kent Place School, where she earned all Northern New Jersey First Team Field Hockey status, and was voted “ Best Personality”. After high school she attended Monmouth Memorial Hospital School of Nursing and became an RN, foreshadowing a lifetime devotion to caring. Her first nursing job brought her to Philadelphia; where she met the love of her life, lifelong Philadelphia resident, Philip Kind. They were married in 1951, and together raised their family that grew to five children,19 grandchildren, and now three great grandchildren. They enjoyed 53 years of marriage until his death in 2004. Throughout her life, Pat excelled in sports, she was an excellent tennis player and a beautiful golfer, all while she gracefully raised five children, separated by less than seven years, through life’s joys and challenges. In addition she was very involved in the community. Mrs. Kind served for many years on the board of the Montgomery County Visiting Nurse Association. She helped to found both Hedwig House and Circle Lodge in Norristown. In 2014, United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey created the Kind Society to honor Patricia and Philip’s incredible legacy of supporting the community. The Kinds believed deeply in the importance of giving back and did so by supporting United Way’s work in the community for more than 60 years, including decades as Tocqueville Society members. She has also been an active board member of the van Ameringen Foundation, based in NYC, for over forty years, serving as the President throughout the 1980’s. In 1996 she began the Patricia Kind Family Foundation, which focuses it’s grant making on health and human services for families in need throughout the Philadelphia metropolitan area. However, it was her quiet personal giving that set Patricia Kind apart. She cared deeply about others and was a thoughtful and involved philanthropist. Throughout her entire life she was committed to doing all she can to assure that the greatest possible impact of her giving is made on behalf of those most vulnerable. She was a leader and inspiration to many through her personal giving and care for those less fortunate. She was an amazing woman who lived a long and wonderful life and accomplished so much good for her family and the community. She also struggled with dementia for the more than 10 years. Through it all she maintained a wonderful sense of humor. She dealt with dying in the same way she lived her life, with grace, compassion and humor. She died peacefully at 8:30pm on Sunday evening January 10th at Brandywine Dresher Estates, where she lived for the past 11 years. She was surrounded by her family, including all five of her adult children who held her hands and comforted her with love in the final hours of her life. She is survived by five children Ken Kind (Sharon) of Huntingdon Valley, Laura Kind McKenna (Marc) of Wyndmoor, Christina Kind of Glenside, Valerie Kind-Rubin (Andrew) of Doylestown and Andy Kindfuller (Kenwyn) of Potomac, MD, as well as 19 grandchildren and three great grandchildren. She is also survived by her brother Henry van Ameringen of NYC. A memorial celebration for family and friends will be held Friday January 15, 2016 at The Salvation Army Kroc Center of Philadelphia, 4200 Wissahickon Ave Philadelphia PA 19129. There will be a reception beginning at 9:30 AM and the memorial service will start promptly at 11AM. In lieu of flowers the family asks that you make a donation to the charity of your choice.