PATRICIA C. DOMBROWSKI Nov. 5, 1932 – Dec. 16, 2024
Patricia Catherine was born to Anthony and Susan Rimkunas on November 5, 1932, at home in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Pat died in Los Alamos, New Mexico, on December 16, 2024, at the age of 92.
She was the second of four siblings. She grew up in a large extended family where 28 aunts and uncles and over 40 cousins were within walking distance of each other. The big bands of the 1940s stopped at Bridgeport on their way in and out of NYC, and she danced to them all.
Pat married her high school sweetheart Ed Dombrowski after his service with the Marine Corps. They had five children while Ed went to night school for an engineering degree.
Once Ed completed his engineering degree, Pat and Ed started on a series of corporate moves which lead them all over the Northeast and eventually to the West Coast and Southwest. Pat worked hard to help the whole family adjust to the moves and always found interesting things for the family to do. Her great sense of humor helped a lot. She was fond of saying that each place had its own charms. She loved California because she could grow anything she wanted, New Hampshire for the fun eclectic neighbors, Connecticut for her large extended family, upstate New York for its pheasants and other wildlife, New Jersey for the great number of children the same age as hers in the neighborhood, and New Mexico and Arizona for their natural beauty.
Pat lived independently in downtown Los Alamos for ten years and loved being able to walk to anything she needed including the all-important library. Seeing mule deer on her daily walks was a special treat. Pat enjoyed stretch classes at the Y, watercolor painting, and jigsaw puzzles. She loved reading mysteries and was pleased to have read all the James Patterson mysteries by December. She was a lifelong fan of the Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune game shows. Pat adored any photos or stories of babies and toddlers. She loved Halloween in downtown Los Alamos.
Pat was preceded in death by Ed, her husband of 62 years, and two sons, Dennis and Damian.
She is survived by sons David (Maureen) and Duane (Jan), and daughter Dana. She is also survived by six grandchildren (Justine, Jessica, Joshua, Nathan, Emily, Elizabeth) and four great granddaughters (Alexis, Kaitlyn, Sloane, Lainey).