Patricia Hewitt Waterfall

1936 - 2023

Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard.   ? Lao Tzu     Patricia (Patsy) Hewitt Waterfall, 86, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her family on March 16, 2023. Born August 5th, 1936, in Tucson, Arizona, to Irene and Dr. William Roy Hewitt, Patsy attended Sam Hughes Elementary, Mansfeld Middle School, and Graduated from Tucson High School in 1954.     Patsy left Tucson to attend the University of California at Berkeley.  There she earned her degree in Political Science (1960) and met Gordon Waterfall, her former husband, and father of her four children. After they married, Gordon enlisted in the US Air Force, and they were stationed in Marrakech, Morocco. Patsy quickly took to the culture in Morocco, visiting the markets on her own, learning the cuisine, and soaking up the designs and colors. Patsy returned to Tucson when she became pregnant with her first son, the late Mark Waterfall.   Patsy raised her four children in Tucson and demonstrated her commitment and leadership through activism and charitable work, especially on behalf of women's rights and conservation. She served on many boards, including the Junior League of Tucson, Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Arizona Land and Water Trust (founding member), American Field Service, and the Tucson Botanical Gardens.  Patsy served as a director of the Stonewall Foundation for more than 15 years. For over 30 years, she was a Planned Parenthood of Southern Arizona board member and served several terms as President.  She was well known for hosting the annual Planned Parenthood volunteer potluck at her home on Sierra Vista Drive, attended by hundreds of men and women committed to protecting and advancing the rights of women in our community, many of whom became lifelong friends.   Patsy also engaged civically, helping to further shape and protect the region as a commissioner on the Pima County Open Space Commission and a member of both the Pima County Parks and Recreation and the Tucson-Pima County Historical Commissions. She was a subscriber and supporter of many local arts and culture organizations.   Patsy returned to school as her children got older, earning her master's degree in landscape architecture at the University of Arizona in 1982. She worked for The Acacia Group before starting her landscape architecture practice. As an award-winning Landscape Architect, Patsy gave life to numerous public and private outdoor spaces touched by her elegant and regionally influenced design style.    Patsy spent time at the University of Arizona's Pima County Cooperative Extension as an Extension Agent in Landscape Water Conservation. Throughout her career, she published numerous bulletins, articles, papers, curricula, and film productions on the topic.   Patsy is preceded in death by her son Mark Waterfall. She is survived by her sister Jane (Hewitt) Heffelman (Richard Heffelman), her son Gregory Waterfall (Leigh Ann Waterfall) and her daughters Karen Waterfall and Julia Waterfall-Kanter (Brian Kanter), her grandchildren Melissa, Katherine, Sophia, Samantha, and Chloe, as well as her great-grandchildren Zachary and Maxwell. Patsy shared the last 11 years with her beloved partner, Dan Dobbs, who gave her extraordinary love and admiration and read and wrote her heartfelt poetry.   Dan also established the Patsy Waterfall Fund for Advocacy at Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona. The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, you make a gift in honor of Patsy to the fund at weareplannedparenthoodaction.org You may also wish to pay tribute to Pasty with a gift to the Tucson Botanical Gardens.   The family will celebrate Patsy's life at the Tucson Botanical Gardens on Sunday, April 16, from 4 to 6 pm. All who loved and admired her are welcome to attend. RSVP to waterfallkanter@gmail.com.