Patricia Lee Read Johnson, 78, was born to Lois Ida Williams and Walter Leonard Read in Seattle at St. Luke’s Hospital on March 20, 1931 and died in Coupeville on Jan. 5, 2010 at Whidbey General Hospital.

Patricia grew up an only child raised by her mother and grandparents in Seattle in the Mount Baker District. She graduated from Franklin High School in 1948.

Pat was an excellent artist, which led her to major in art in a trade-school program after graduation.

Patricia married Ken Johnson in Sherman Oaks, Calif. on June 24, 1952. They had two children, daughter Laurel in 1955 and son Jay in 1957. In the early years of their marriage they lived in Ellensburg, Port Orchard and San Bernardino, Calif., but the majority of their years were spent in San Jose, Calif.

Over the years, Pat worked as a dental assistant in a quality-control lab, and took an occasional secretarial job, but mostly was a homemaker and supported Ken in his work.

They lived in San Jose for 38 years until Ken’s retirement in 1993. At that point they moved to the Northwest to be close to their daughter, Laurel.

They found some property on Whidbey Island and built a shop and an apartment above the shop. They later built their lovely home adjacent to the shop.

Patricia was an avid reader, bird watcher and nature lover. Although she was initially a “city girl,” she grew to love hiking, camping, boating and fishing. Some of the family’s best memories are of boating together on the Delta. She was very interested in genealogy, loved doting on her grandchildren, and getting the whole family together for gatherings.

In the past five or six years, Patricia was very pleased to get to know and develop a relationship with her half-brother and half- sister, Phillip and Caroline, her father’s children. She did not know them as they were growing up, but her relationship with them was very important to her in the last years of her life.

A loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, sister-in-law, aunt, cousin and dear friend, she will be missed by many.

Patricia is survived by her husband, Ken Johnson; daughter Laurel Bennett; son Jay Johnson (Francine); grandchildren Curtis James and Dana Marie Johnson; half-sister Carolyn Huff (Joe) and half-brother Phillip Read (Diane) and her nephew, Nicholas.

There will be a family memorial service in Freeland on Sunday, Jan. 17.

The family asks that instead of flowers, you make a donation to the charity of your choice.