Patricia Darcy

Patricia Elizabeth Darcy, age 77, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on September 16.

Pat was born in Elizabeth, NJ to Joseph and Angela Burack. She grew up in Union, NJ and received full scholarships to Rutgers Newark and then Penn State University. After graduating with a Masters in Comparative Literature she worked for Doubleday Books and the Council on Foreign Relations followed by a career in executive search. Throughout her life, she volunteered in literacy programs and soup kitchens/pantries. Nearing the end of her career she left the corporate sphere to become a middle school English and dual language teacher in Elizabeth, NJ.

In retirement Pat worked for over a decade as a docent at the New York Public Library Schwarzman Building and as a Teaching Volunteer at the American Museum of Natural History. She also volunteered with New York Cares becoming a volunteer trainer and team leader. In addition, throughout retirement, Pat audited a variety of courses at Columbia University, especially literature and music, and remained an avid reader and traveler. But her best time was spent with her grandchildren.

Pat is survived by her husband, Jim; her children, Elizabeth Sorrentino (Nicholas) and Andrew (Sheva); three grandchildren, Nicholas, Kerry, and Kevin; her brother, Richard, and sister, Barbara Alfano; and many nieces and nephews.

A visitation will be held on Sunday, September 21 from 2-6pm at Dooley Colonial Home, 556 Westfield Ave., Westfield. A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Monday, September 22 at 11:30am at Saint Helen's Roman Catholic Church, 1600 Rahway Ave., Westfield. Interment will follow at Fairview Cemetery, Westfield.

In lieu of flowers, her family requests that donations may be made to her preferred charity, Doctors Without Borders.