Patricia Del Buono

1938 - 2024

Patricia Bernotas Del Buono passed away September 23, 2024 after battling cancer for the second time. She was 85.
Born October 26, 1938 in Waterbury, Connecticut, Pat was the oldest of three siblings. She attended B.W. Tinker Grammar School and was active in the Mount Carmel CYO, where she first met the love of her life, John "Jack" Del Buono, to whom she was married for 64 years. Pat graduated from Crosby High School and St. Mary's School of Nursing, where she built a foundation for her successful career as a Registered Nurse and formed lifelong friendships.
Jack's career in the U.S. Army took them to posts in Italy, Germany, and many locations across the states. On the homefront, Pat filled the role of both mother and father many times while Jack was deployed. She began her nursing career caring for newborns in the nursery, and broadened her experience with each of her many moves as a military spouse, serving patients in many different medical disciplines in hospitals and doctors' offices. During her own medical challenges over the last few years, she could often be heard sharing treatment methodologies with the younger nurses caring for her.
Pat enjoyed life as an Army spouse and the Battalion Commander's wife, frequently entertaining at her home or spending time with soldiers and their families. Some of her most cherished friendships came during Jack's time in Wurzburg, Germany, and she and Jack enjoyed annual reunions with the Germany crew all around the globe for many years.
Family was everything to Pat, and her legacy lives on in her surviving children: son Brian and spouse Sandra Del Buono, daughter Lisa and husband Pete Datoc, and daughter Karin Torchia; her grandchildren Matthew (spouse Courtney) and Michael (spouse Samantha) Del Buono, Alison and Dustin Datoc; and great-grandchildren Genevieve and Lorenzo Del Buono. Pat is also survived by her brother, Randy Bernotas, and is predeceased by her sister, Linda Troisi.
The family will receive visitors at Jefferson Funeral Chapel, 5755 Castlewellan Dr., Alexandria, VA on Tuesday, October 1 from 4 to 8 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Raymond of Peñafort Catholic Church, 8750 Pohick Rd., Springfield, VA. on Wednesday, October 2 at 11 a.m. Burial at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society.