Patricia Ann HEINZEN

Age 79 Formerly of Maplewood, MN, died May 9, 2023. Pat was born in Aberdeen, SD to Gertrude and Neil Prunty. Her childhood was filled with joy with two older and three younger siblings and lots of cousins. She attended school in the small prairie town of Westport, SD, where her favorite teacher, the red-haired Miss Walker, patiently taught her to read and inspired her to become an elementary public school teacher. Pat spent all 36 years of her career in North St. Paul, Maplewood and Oakdale schools. Pat loved teaching kindergarten. She always said, "They come in with their whole lives in front of them!" Pat met the love of her life, Larrie, when she was 17. After college, they both accepted teaching jobs in Minnesota. Pat followed Larrie's wanderlust for buying and selling homes. In their 49 years of marriage, they lived in 14 different homes. Pat's favorite was the Geodesic dome, where they raised their 2 girls, that Larrie built for her in 1978. Her greatest joy was her family, especially her five grandsons. Pat's smile and dancing blue eyes will be missed by all who met her. Pat was preceded in death by her parents and husband Larrie. She is survived by daughters, Sundraya "Sunny" (Jeffrey) Kase and Megan Heinzen, all of St. Paul; grandsons, Joseph, Thomas, Patrick, William and Konrad; siblings, Roger (Mary) Prunty, Connie (George) Schumacher, Donna (Howard) Peldo, Bob (Cathie) Prunty and Pamela (Lynn) Sinness; and many great-nieces and nephews. A Memorial Service will be 11 a.m. Monday, May 15, 2023, at O'Halloran & Murphy Funeral Home, 575 Snelling Ave., St. Paul, MN 55116, with visitation from 10-11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Joy Home in St. Paul, where Pat spent her last years battling Alzheimer's. www.rakhma.org/st-paul-joy-home