PATRICIA WEIS

WEIS--Patricia Gloria Ross. Patricia Gloria Ross Weis of Sunbury, PA and NYC, passed away on October 30, 2024. Beloved wife for 57 years of the late Robert F. Weis, a leader in the supermarket industry and former chairman of Weis Markets, Patsy came as a bride from NYC to Pennsylvania where she made her home for 67 years. Dearly loved mother of Jennifer Weis Monsky, Colleen Ross Weis and Jonathan Harry Goldman Ross Weis; proud mother-in-law of John R. Monsky, Martin Laiks and Analisa Barreto Weis; adoring grandmother of Harrison Weis Monsky, Annabel Weis Monsky, Gillian Stella Weis Monsky, Caitlin May Weis Monsky, Allison Weis Laiks and Lara Frances Weis Laiks, Jacob Ross Barreto Weis, Dayssi Francesca Barreto Weis and Felix Emanuel Barreto Weis. Patsy's spirit, kindness and independence, generosity and righteousness, will live on in those she nurtured and loved. Born on May 24, 1930 to Hyman J. Ross and Frances Goldman Ross in NYC, Patsy straddled worlds, including the Irish heritage of her father, who, along with his father John Ross, former Rabbi and President of the Belfast Hebrew Congregation (Ireland), represented the Linen Textile Co. in NYC. Patsy's father became a stockbroker and was sought after for his business acumen and joie de vivre. Her mother's family started the firm of William P. Goldman & Bros, a nationally known manufacturer of GGG men's clothing. One of the founding uncles, Emanuel Goldman, lived with Patsy and her parents and was a second father to her. Patsy had an expansive educational background, and it fed her lifelong curiosity and love of learning. Patsy attended the Ethical Culture School and Birch-Wathen in New York City, and then her adored Bard College, where she was a loyal alumna '52, friend, and trustee from 1985 to the present. At Bard, she supported scholarships, programs, capital projects and endowed a professorship in Jewish History and Culture. She supported the new wing of the library, where she was so taken with Robert Venturi's architecture she invited him to design a new synagogue for Congregation Beth-El in Sunbury. At Bard in 2016, she was awarded the Alumnae Association's highest honor. Together with Bob, Patsy showed leadership, support and commitment to education, medicine, the arts and Jewish life. At Susquehanna University, she helped establish the Blough-Weis Library, and the Stella Freeman Weis Cultural Endowment. At Franklin & Marshall College, where Patsy served as a trustee for 14 years and was a trustee emerita, she and Bob established the Robert F. and Patricia G. Ross Weis Professorship in Judaic Studies and the Weis College House. At Yale, they helped create the Department of Judaic Studies and endowed a Professorship in Classical Judaic Studies. They supported the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies at Yale, and Patsy also contributed to Shabbat dinners at Yale's Slifka Center. She was a donor to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Project Lyme, UJA and many local charities in her hometown. She loved classical music and was a lifelong Patron of the Metropolitan Opera and its Saturday broadcasts. Patsy built her life on friendships that transcended age. Her memory for detail was unparalleled; she could play back every conversation she ever had. Everyone she knew says how Patsy treated them with kindness and interest and made them feel important. Patsy was a towering figure in her children's lives, an inspiration to each, and will be missed every minute of every day.