Patricia Tobin HUBSMITH

1931 - 2015

HUBSMITH, Patricia Tobin

Patricia Ann "Pat" Hubsmith, 83, of Palm Beach, FL, passed away on January 7, 2015 under the care of Hospice of Palm Beach County. Born July 13, 1931, she was the daughter of Kathryn Dolan Tobin and Richard J. Tobin of Passaic, NJ. Her beloved daughter-in-law Leslie Hubsmith survives her, as do grandsons Peter and Kevin, and a host of loving friends. The deceased grew up in Rutherford, NJ, where she attended St. Mary's Grammar School and St. Mary's High School (and later was the first woman to serve on the Rutherford Zoning Board.) An early television pioneer, "Pat Tobin" enjoyed a career in Modern Day Costuming for the major television networks and never lost her unique sense of style. She held a degree in Merchandising from Manhattan's Laboratory Institute of Merchandising. She relocated to Cocoa Beach, FL in 1980 and pursued other interests, such as a ten-year study of Comparative Religion at Brevard Community College. She became a docent at the Vero Beach Planetarium and a member of the Star Gazing Group. For many years she belonged to Planetary Citizens and the University School for Peace Studies in Costa Rico and Arlington, TX. She was volunteer hostess for receptions of the Shuttle contractors from "STS-1" until the tragic loss of the "Challenger." In 1990 she moved to Palm Beach and was an early member of the Fellowship of Christians and Jews, and a supporter of the successful "Save the Hospitals" movement. She was the last surviving founder of Palm Beach Island Democrats. She traveled frequently with UN Assistant Secretary Robert Muller and his wife to Central and South America. She has visited Mexico no fewer than thirty times and went thrice around the world. For the past forty-eight years, Pat was a sober member of Alcoholic Anonymous and tireless in her support of those suffering from substance addiction. Asked to describe what A. A. had meant to her, she responded simply, "It was a wonderful life." She belonged to St. Mary's Guild at the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea. The private inurnment of her cremains will be held at the Bethesda Columbarium. A memorial service is to occur at 2:00PM on Wednesday, January 14, 2015 in the Royal Poinciana Chapel, to be followed by a reception in the Dining Room of the Palm Beach Towers. Those wishing to honor her memory may send contributions in her name to "The Harbor of Hope, Inc.," c/o The Rev. Clayton B. Waddell, Deacon at Bethesda-by-the-Sea, Box 4364, Palm Beach, FL 33480.

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