Patricia Krueger

1941 - 2023

After a dynamic, wide-ranging life during which she had several lifetimes' worth of occupations, achievements, and children, the Honorable Patricia Krueger died peacefully Monday, February 20 in her home in Francestown, NH at the age of 81. As he had been for 35 years, her husband Ortwin was by her side. Patricia was a natural storyteller, a gregarious politician, a skilled designer and cook, a wheeler-dealer and a hoot. She was a big thinker whose restless spirit and boundless energy allowed her to reinvent herself time after time. Patricia never let total accuracy get in the way of a good story, but even she could not over-tell her life.

The eldest daughter of Carl and Helen Pepe, Patricia was born in Bayonne, NJ on December 22, 1941. She grew up surrounded by Irish aunts and uncles, Italian cousins, and amongst the trappings of the Catholic Church. She is survived by two of her sisters, Pamela Philbin and Charlene Kelemen and her brother, Chuck Pepe; she was predeceased by her sister, Michelle Pepe.

As a student, Patricia was smart and driven. She earned a scholarship to attend Mount Saint Mary's Academy in Watchung, NJ, where she excelled academically and was the co-captain of the basketball team. From "the Mount", Patricia went on to Georgetown University, where she earned a BS in nursing. To afford her final year, Patricia enrolled in Naval ROTC and upon graduation in 1963, she was commissioned as an Ensign Nurse at Bethesda Naval Hospital.

Patricia was beautiful and stylish and never lacked male admirers. Shortly after graduation, she met and married John DeSando and had her first son, Erik, forcing her to leave the Navy. Over the next 6 years, they had five daughters - Courtney, Rachel, Jessica, Thea and Gabrielle. Patricia taught nursing and worked as an occupational health nurse and school nurse while living in various college towns with her husband, a professor. She bought, rehabilitated and sold a house in nearly every place she lived, restoring perhaps 25 over her lifetime.

By the mid 1970s, divorced and with six kids, Patricia met and married Prentice Colby and they had two sons, Eben and Elijah, bringing Patricia's total to eight. From a drafty, dilapidated farmhouse two miles down a dirt road in Royalston, MA, Patricia commuted to Keene State College to pursue her Masters in Education at night. At the same time, she and Prentice set about using the rural acreage to grow much of the family's food, raise chickens, turkeys, and pigs and keep sheep, horses, ponies, and all manner of dogs and cats.

She exposed her kids to the world of ideas, sewed most of their clothing and terrified any teacher who did not recognize their brilliance. But she demanded hard work, good grades and high character. She trained the older kids to care for the younger and filled their days with chores: washing clothes, churning butter, making bread, splitting wood to heat the house. Her treatment of her kids' injuries often consisted of a quick glance and breezy "I'm pretty sure you'll live." One November, she gave them an anatomy lesson as they prepared a favored animal, Tom the Turkey, for Thanksgiving. Some found the meal more somber than festive.

During this time, she also became gravely ill with Hairy Cell Leukemia. During months of hospitalization, she had a reputation as a comic and rabble-rouser, entertaining the bed-ridden and smuggling them forbidden food. Her cancer eventually remitted, though the treatment took a heavy toll on her body.

In 1983, Patricia went to work as the Director of Career Counseling at Keene State College. She gave up the rural life and settled in Keene, NH, where she met Ortwin Krueger, whom she married in 1988 in his native Germany. She had finally found her match and together, they bought an unloved historic home in Francestown, NH and set about restoring it. At the same time, Patricia took on the role of Vice President of Development at The Crotched Mountain Foundation, where delighted in her interactions with the residents with disabilities and recruited children from places as far-flung as Romania and the Virgin Islands.

In her next chapter, Patricia and Ortwin transformed the 130 acre Arbutus Farm in Dunbarton, NH, into a thriving bed and breakfast and function venue. In 1995, she ran to represent Merrimack County District 7 in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, winning in a tight recount. Though her mind often jumped too quickly from one thing to another for proper syntax, she had headlong confidence, natural charisma and an innate feel for a room that carried her through any public moment. She could eviscerate an opponent on the debate stage, charm a room full of donors, and reliably fire up a crowd.

During the 1996 Republican Presidential primary, Patricia hosted all of the Republican candidates and hundreds of guests for a July 4th Pig Roast at the Arbutus. Later, she hosted Vice President Dan Quayle at a "Family Farm Day" fundraiser for Congressman Charlie Bass. She served as a delegate for Pat Buchanan at the 1996 Republican Convention and Finance Chair for Ovid Lamontagne's 1996 run for NH Governor. In 1998, Patricia was elected to represent District 16 in the NH State Senate. She served as the NH Finance Chair for Steve Forbes's 2000 presidential candidacy.

IN 2003, Patricia and Ortwin turned another page, fulfilling a long-held desire to move to Napa Valley, CA. to run The Vineyard Country Inn. Patricia ran to represent District 7 in the California State Assembly, ultimately falling short but receiving 38% of the vote in a 22% Republican district. She pivoted, becoming Vice President of V. Sattui Winery (and later, also Castello di Amorosa winery), where she redesigned the winery's visitor spaces and oversaw the event program's rapid growth. During her time in Napa Valley, Patricia also channeled her love of houses and gift for networking into work as a realtor.

In 2016, Patricia and Ortwin returned to Francestown, refurbishing a stately colonial just down the street from the one they had rebuilt 30 years earlier. By moving back to the wellspring of so many fond memories, she willed herself back into an earlier time in her life. Though she was in slowly failing health, Patricia launched a successful interior design business. She leafed through the classifieds and joked about a political comeback. But over the summer and fall of 2022, she suffered a series of strokes which limited her ability to speak and began to cloud her quick mind. In recent weeks, she demanded to go home from the hospital, damn the doctors' orders. So in her own home, surrounded by her impeccable decor, tended tirelessly by her beloved Ortwin, and visited by a string of her old friends, kids and grandkids, her breathing slowed, then stopped, and she was off to reinvent herself one last time.

Visitation will be held on Saturday, March 4, 2023 from 10 AM to 11 AM at Divine Mercy Parish, 12 Church Street, Peterborough, NH. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated immediately following at 11 AM with Rev. Michael Taylor as Celebrant.

To read a longer description of her life, to share a memory, or to leave the family a message of condolence, please visit Patricia's online tribute page at www.jellisonfuneralhome.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Patricia's name to The Francestown Volunteer Fire Department, P.O. Box 97 Francestown, NH 03043.