Patricia Cregan Stoll

Patricia Cregan Stoll
12/04/2024
Pat Stoll lived a rich life – as a gardener, microbiologist, medical doctor, radio announcer, and outdoors-woman. On December 4th, she passed on, just shy of 70 years.
Reading bedtime stories to our kids, making jam from backyard plum trees, cultivating native garden plants, or carving gourds -- Pat's favorite time was with her family and friends.
Pat was born in 1954 and adopted by James and Mary Cregan in Baldwinsville, NY. Late in life, she formed a close bond with her birth mother, Connie Cole, as well as to several half-sisters.
She enjoyed classes at Tufts and McGill, receiving her bachelor's degree in Zoology from UC Berkeley. Later, she earned a Masters of Public Health and an MD from UC San Diego. She completed her residency in pathology at UCSF, and a fellowship in pathology at Kaiser/SF. She performed operating room pathology at several hospitals and forensic pathology at the SF Medical Examiner's Office.
Around 1998, she tiptoed away from medicine to spend more time with her family. Along the way, she became a gardener, aesthetic pruner, ceramics artist, and enthusiastically volunteered at Oakland's Lake Merritt Garden. She programmed music as a disc jockey at Berkeley's KALX radio, known on the air as Bellweather and Zephyr.
After her children grew, Pat returned to public health, working at the virology section of the California Dept of Public Health from 2011 to 2022. Her intellectual fervor and curiosity contributed to our understanding of Zika and Covid. An expert in rabies, Pat could identify the species of every west coast bat.
Pat loved hiking the Redrock country of Southern Utah and the Colorado Plateau; she often visited Wilbur Hot Springs and was a regular figure at local botanical gardens.
Predeceased by her daughter, Siobhan (1981). Pat is survived by her husband, Cliff; daughter, Zoe; and son, Daniel.
A memorial for Pat's life will be held in mid July; contact Cliff Stoll for details.
Pat's life lives on in the warm memories of her many friends. Visit the gardens of the East Bay, hike the Escalante, watch a bat flitter at night – you'll find Pat's spirit.